Coinciding Moments
by redlerred7
Summary: Everyone has their side of the story. It's not likely that they're related to each other but every side deserves to be told. A series of coincidences in the lives of Konata, Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki (also the first year girls). AU? Slightly. OOC chracters? Possibly. Terrible? Probably... Read it to find out? Reviews are appreciated. (Minor OC Warning)
1. All it took was a day

**So… Lucky star! Yay! First chapter is complete. And to think, this little gem came from inspiration brought by lack of sleep. Anyway, enjoy if you can. If you can't enjoy it, it's probably this story is made by a bad author. Oh well. Hahaha.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own lucky star or any other copyrighted/trademarked material in this fic. All I own is the story itself which is not much, to be honest.**

**Edit: I fixed some typos and grammatical errors**

**Lucky ****Star **

It was a noon on a Monday at Ryoo High. As they always did during lunch time, Konata Izumi, Miyuki Takara, and Kagami and Tsukasa Hiragii were chatting among themselves.

"Hey, you guys' birthday is coming up soon right?" Konata asked, segueing from their previous topic

"Yeah, it's in about a month" Kagami replied

"Oh dear. I haven't picked out a present yet" Miyuki seemed distressed from the realization

"Don't worry about it Miyuki-san. Presents aren't the point of birthdays" Kagami said in an attempt to comfort her

"Well, I'm glad you think that Kagamin. Now I'll only have to give presents to one of you." Konata said a-matter-of-factly

"What makes you say that?" Kagami asked dryly

"Well… I'm broke. It's close to the point where I can't even buy new games or anime stuff anymore."

"… What?" Kagami seemed put-off at how casually Konata stated that they were having a hard time financially.

"I'll probably only be able to get one present for you two, you don't seem to like any of my presents, I guess I'll just give mine to Tsukasa"

"Thanks Kona-chan" Tsukasa said to her "But I think Kagami likes your presents more"

"Hmm… Well, she IS a tsundere…"

"Darn it, Konata! I'm not a Tsundere!" Kagami yelled out in frustration. "Just give your stupid present to Tsukasa… It's not like any of them are good anyway…" She grumbled

"Don't worry Kagamin, even though I'm broke, I'll make sure I get a present that's REALLY good" From that statement, Kagami's expression softened a bit

"Hey now… You don't have to push yourself, Konata. It's the thought that counts."

Konata looked at Kagami with a neutral expression with her head tilted to the side a bit "Hey Kagami…"

"… Yes Konata?"

"… would you consider a kiss to be an acceptable present?"

"w-wha…" Kagami stood there dumbfounded by the question

_She's basically asking me for permission to kiss me. But only people who are dating should be doing that. Besides, it would be my first kiss. It would probably be Konata's first kiss too. Would that mean Konata wants to start dating me? If I say yes, would that mean I WANT to date Konata? AM I GOING TO SAY YES? A-and-and-and what happens next? A-after kissing is gonna be…. Th-that, and if we start doing that… w-we-we'd b-b-be…_

The next thing Kagami realized was that she was in the nurse's office. Next to her bed were Konata, Miyuki and Tsukasa

"Sis! You're awake!" Tsukasa hugged he sister tightly

"Hey, jeez! Stop being so loud, you'll disturb the other patients"

"Actually, the only other people here right now is Yu-chan and Minami" Konata mentioned

"I'm glad you're awake, Kagami-chan!" The four heard the voice of Yutaka Kobayakawa from across the room, followed by the voice of Minami Iwasaki "Don't shout. You should be resting"

"So… what happened? How'd I end up here?" Kagami asked

"Well, after Konata asked… that question…" Tsukasa said with a blush, "You sort of blanked out. Your eyes were unfocused, your face was really red and you were hypa… herva… Miyuki, what did you call it?"

"You were hyperventilating: taking very quick deep breaths." Miyuki said

"The nurse said you should be good to go by the end of next period. Lunch is about to end so I guess we'll see you, sis." Tsukasa waved goodbye as the three left for their class room.

A few second later, Konata went back.

"Sorry, forgot something" she said

"What did you forget?" Kagami asked

"I'd like to say sorry… It was a joke but I didn't think this would happen…"

"Wait… you were joking?"

"… Um… yeah, I was. Did you really think I'd ask if I could kiss you?"

"Well… you looked really serious about it! What else was I to think!?"

"Oh jeez. So… If, say, I WAS serious and actually asked if I could kiss you, would you say yes?"

"I… Why are you asking that now!?"

"Hey, I'm curious. How likely would it be that you'll say yes?"

Kagami looked at Konata with narrowed eyes "I'd say 50:50 but right now I'm leaning more towards no…"

"…" Konata looked at Kagami with a mixture excitement, disappointment, and relief.

"Konata, you're looking at me funny…"

"Oh? Well, what's new?" Her face reverted back to her all too favourite expression. That cat smile of hers. Kagami looked away.

"Whatever, just get to class before the bell rings" At that exact moment, the bell rung

"Too late. I guess that means I can stay until you leave right?"

"Get to class, Konata!"

"Okay! Jeez, it was just a joke."

**Lucky ****Star **

It was the end of school and Konata's class was packing up.

"Remember, you're gonna be having a boat load of quizzes this week so you better not slack off. I'm looking at you, Izumi" Ms Nanako Kuroi was reminding the class

"Sis just texted me, guys. She said she's gonna be doing something in the library so we should go without her." Tsukasa told her friends

"Really? Aww, I wanted to go to Gamerz with her…" Konata seemed down on the fact.

"Don't worry, Kona-chan. I'll go with you" Tsukasa said in an attempt to cheer Konata up.

"Really? Thanks Tsukasa"

"Hey Yuki-chan, want to come with?" Tsukasa asked Miyuki

"I'm sorry, but I have some… errands to run" Her hand seemed to automatically reach up to her jaw

"Dentist again?" Konata teased

"Yes, it's rather stressful"

"Well, good luck then."

The three split paths from each other.

**Lucky ****Star **

It was a quiet time at the library. Not a soul in the school came here to study on Mondays and, despite appearances, Kagami Hiragii wasn't studying either.

Propping her head up with her hand, she lazily flipped through pages of a text book as her thoughts wandered.

_Why Konata? Why would you drop a bomb on me like that? I never wanted to feel confused like this. To be honest, if she asked me out, I'd be happy. I'd say yes. If not, I'd STILL be happy. I'd have no problem either way… Well… there's also the little matter that we're both girls but it's not really an issue for me… Thinking back though, if I'd feel fine in whatever happens with our relationship, why do I feel so angry and confused right now!? It's frustrating and making me even angrier…! Calm down Kagami. No need get so worked up._

"Heya, Hiragii" someone patted Kagami on the back

"Ahhh!" Kagami recoiled in surprise

"Hey, Hiragii, keep it down. You're in a library you know?"

The person in question was Misao Kusakabe, accompanied by Ayano Minegeshi.

"Oh… Kusakabe, Minegeshi-san"

"Hello there, Hiragii-san" Ayano greeted her politely

"So, Hiragii, whatcha doin' here?" Misao asked her

"What does it look like? I'm studying. What are YOU doing here? Don't you have track practice today?"

"Nah. They cancelled since half the team had something important come up. So, here I am with my two favourite people in my least favourite place"

"Would you mind if we sit here?" Ayano asked "Since Misa-chan is free, I figured I could help her with studying for the tests this week."

"Sure. Just make sure she doesn't bother me" Kagami said as she looked back down to the book she was pretending to read

So there they stayed for nearly half an hour in relative silence. Misao was surprisingly calm for most of it, only standing up and stretching in a bout of restlessness six times.

However, the sound of group study soon gave way to quiet reading. The silence for whatever reason, made Kagami self-conscious, feeling as if she were being watched. She looked up and saw that her feelings were correct.

There sat Misao, hunched across the table, resting her chin on her arms, looking directly at Kagami with curious eyes.

"You okay?" She asked Kagami

"… w-why do you ask?"

"I don't know. Something seems different. When I look at you, I can tell. I think you're acting differently"

"Different? Different how?"

"I don't know… Off the top of my head, you don't have that determined look you normally have when you're studying… Oh, and you're propping your head up with your left hand instead of your right hand like you usually do."

Realizing that what Misao said was true, Kagami was astonished "Wow Misao… I never knew you to be so observant…"

"It's the chibi isn't it?"

"What?"

"You're having problems with that blue haired midget"

"First off, don't call her a midget or a chibi or whatever. Second, what makes you think it's her?"

"… I don't know. You seem out of it and that only ever happens when it's about her."

"… well… whatever…"

"If it's something she said, you're probably overthinking things"

"What?"

"You tend to overthink the meaning of what people say or why they said it. If she said something hurtful or something, I don't think she meant any harm."

"… That's pretty good advice… alright, who are you and what have you done to Misao? How are you able to give me good advice?"

"… I don't know. Heh, I'm sorta just saying things without thinking here" Misao said, smiling and scratching her head

Kagami sweat dropped "Somehow, I'm no longer surprised…" Kagami looked back down to the text book she had

_Maybe I AM overthinking this. It's not like Konata hasn't made any sexual jokes involving me and her in the past… that was actually pretty tame considering… but then again her reaction when I said that yes and no were equally probable was fishy… And here I am overthinking things again… I should just trust Konata in whatever she does since she's my friend… Huh, I guess Misao can give sound advice sometimes… Even though I technically still had to figure some things out on my own as well... I should thank her._

"Hey Misao…"

"Yeah, Hiragii?"

"… Thanks…"

Slowly realizing what Kagami said, Misao beamed at her with a happiness seen from a child receiving a present. The positive energy radiating from Misao was infectious, and Kagami found that she and Ayano were smiling as well

_She's a good friend to have._ Kagami thought happily.

**Lucky ****Star **

Gamerz was not a place for the faint of heart. Tsukasa eventually found herself lost in a sea of manga. Konata was nowhere to be seen, and she found that if she kept looking lost, people would keep asking her to make poses and say weird things. To prevent anymore weird people to talk to her, she took a manga off the shelf and began flipping through pages. It seemed to stop anyone from going towards her.

"Hey Tsukasa! There you are. I've been looking all over for you" Konata dashed for Tsukasa

"Oh, Kona-chan. Sorry, I got a little lost"

"Yeah, gets a bit confusing if you're not used to it here." Konata noticed the manga Tsukasa was reading. "Strawberry Panic… So how do you like it?"

"Oh this? Well, I don't know the whole story, but I like the drawings and the characters seem nice. I am confused, though. Why was there a scene where two girls are kissing?"

"Well, that's because that manga is Yuri. It's a genre where there are girls who date each other"

"Really? Is there any Yuri in real life?"

"Well… probably. I've never seen one in real life but I HAVE heard about it online."

"Isn't it weird though, two girls dating?"

"I don't know. If two people love each other, I don't really see the problem with them dating"

"… You know, I'd love to try it…"

"Try what? Dating a girl?"

"No, dating in general."

"… Yeah… I'd like to try that too… So, do you want me to buy you that manga?"

"Oh, you don't need to"

"Nah, I still got extra cash. I may have a tight budget but I'll always have money for my friends. Besides, I could use the points" She said holding up a member card

Tsukasa and Konata went to buy the manga

**Lucky ****Star **

Minami was at the dentist's. She had accompanied Miyuki in hopes that her presence would prevent her from running away.

At that time, Minami was texting with Yutaka.

[She seems very distressed at the thought of the dentist.]

[_So you're with her so she doesn't feel distressed right?_]

Minami thought for a bit. _Yeah. I guess I am_

[You could think of it like that]

[_Wow, Minami. You're so cool. You must help out people a lot_.]

Minami blushed at the compliment

[No. I'm just helping out a friend.]

She heard a scream and the sound of footsteps

[Text me back later. It seems there's a problem]

Minami stood in front of the exit and sure enough, Miyuki skidded to a stop in front of her. "Miyuki, no, you're seeing this through to the end"

"But I'm scared!" Miyuki said with tears in her eyes

"You're eighteen years old. Deal with it. Now get back in there. It'll be over before you know it"

Minami pushed Miyuki back towards the dentist's office.

**Lucky ****Star **

"I'm home!" Kagami was reading a light novel when she heard her sister downstairs

_Good. Tsukasa's home. Konata probably dragged her to Gamerz like she does with me._

She heard Tsukasa enter her room, probably to change. A few minutes later she heard a knock on her door.

"Sis, can I come in?"

"Sure, Tsukasa"

Tsukasa slide the door open and entered. She was holding a manga, probably one Konata bought for her. She sat down near Kagami's table and the two began reading

When Tsukasa finished reading her manga, she spoke up. "Hey Kagami"

"Yes, Tsukasa?"

"Would it be alright if I started dating Konata?"

"…" Kagami stared at her.

"Sis…?" Tsukasa looked at her sister, worried.

"…"

"… Sis, are you okay?" Kagami made no response

"Oh dear…" Tsukasa tucked Kagami in bed as she apparently fainted.

**Lucky ****Star **

"Hey dad, pass me the herbs" Konata said to her dad, Sojiro Izumi.

"Which one?" Sojiro said as he moved to open the high cupboard

"All of them"

"Seriously?"

"Dad, there are only three jars"

"… Right"

Konata was cooking, and, like always, she needed her dad's help because he always put the herbs and other such ingredients in places too high for her to reach. _I never really liked that he did that_

"Hey dad, would you ease up the fire on the stove?" Konata said as she was chopping the vegetables

"You got it" Sojiro turned the knob by a quarter, decreasing the intensity of the flames and turning the motion of water in the pot from a violent churning to a gentle bubbling..

"Alright, move over" Konata when up to the stove and put in the vegetables she had cut into the pot.

_Alright, now we just wait for a bit_. Konata thought. "We can take a break now dad."

"Okay"

The two moved to the living room and sat on the couch.

"Hey dad, would it be okay if I started dating?"

"…"

"Dad?"

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I DEMAND TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE BOY WHO THINKS HE HAS THE RIGHT TO DATE MY DAUGHTER!"

"Relax, dad, it's not a boy"

"IF HE TOUCHES ONE HAIR ON MY LITTLE GIRL'S – wait what?"

"What's going on!?" Yutaka ran into the living room, likely because of Sojiro's outburst.

"I asked dad if I could start dating someone"

"Really? Who is it?"

"It's Tsukasa"

"Well… since it's a girl, I guess it changes things…" Sojiro muttered

"Seriously dad? You're okay with me dating a girl but not a boy?"

"Boys are disgusting and dangerous!"

"But you're a boy" Yutaka said

"I know. And I know what other boys are like. I stand by my statement" Sojiro said stubbornly.

The two girls laughed at the statement

**Lucky ****Star **

"So let me get this straight. Sans the details, all of this started because of the manga you were reading?" Kagami asked

"Yeah" Tsukasa said "I just want to know what it's like"

"Yeah but… why Konata?"

"Why not? I don't see the problem."

"Well…" Kagami was having a hard time thinking of a problem "Well first off, you're both girls"

"Konata said love between girls is still love"

"But you're not in love with her"

"Well… no. But who knows? Maybe if we date for a few weeks, we'll grow to love each other. You know you seem to be trying really hard to think of reasons for us not to date."

"I… well… yeah. I guess there really isn't a reason for you not to…"

"Sis, are you sure you're not just jealous?"

"W-w-what!? No! What are you talking about? Jealous? Me? No."

"Sis, you're acting weird…"

"… alright fine, I'm a little jealous. Why is it YOU'RE getting someone?"

"Well… I don't know. Don't most people see you and run away?"

"… Yeah… I guess I am a bit cold…"

"I'm gonna be telling mom and dad later. Will you back me up?"

"… Yeah. Don't worry Tsukasa. I'll help in whatever way I can"

"Thanks sis" Tsukasa hugged Kagami

**Lucky ****Star **

Miyuki was led by Minami to her bed.

"The anaesthetic should have worn off by now. Make sure to have plenty of rest"

"Thank you for accompanying me to the dentist, Minami-san"

"You're welcome. Now don't start eating sweets like there's no tomorrow or your next visit to the dentist will come sooner rather than later" Minami took Miyuki's glasses and set them on the nightstand next to her bed.

"No. I won't."

"Have a good night, Miyuki-neesan" Minami tucked her in and turned off the lights.

"Good night as well, Minami-san"

Miyuki slowly drifted into unconsciousness, despite the fact that it was only 8pm

**Lucky ****Star **

"I have something to say, but I'd like to say it after we eat" Those were Tsukasa's words. She managed to say it casually at the time, but now that the food was eaten, dishes were cleaned, and the entire family was sitting around the table once more, Tsukasa's nervousness became significantly harder to hide.

The Hiragii family, the father, Tadao, the mother, Miki, the two older sisters, Inori and Matsuri, and the twins, Kagami and Tsukasa, sat at the table. Of the six, only Kagami knew of what Tsukasa was about to say.

"Mom… Dad… Would it be okay if I started dating?"

A second of silence passed. Two seconds. Three seconds. Each one was tenser than the last.

At ten seconds the table erupted with chatter. "Who is it?", "How did you get a boyfriend be for I did?", "I'm so proud of you.", and many more were said in the span of five seconds, until Tadao ordered for silence.

Clearing his throat, Tadao began "I'm sure the rest of us would like to know a few things. Firstly, who is it you want to date?"

"K-Kona-chan"

"… Izumi… You do realize she's a girl."

"I-is that a p-problem?" Tsukasa said, doing her best to put up a defiant face, but not quite getting it right.

"Well… how sure are you this will last? Are you sure you really love each other?"

"W-well… we don't"

"… What?"

"I just wanted to know what dating someone feels like. Konata said she wanted to know as well. I figured 'why not?'"

Tadao looked at his daughter. After a few seconds, he looked at his other daughter, Kagami.

"Did you know about this?"

"… y-yeah. I did"

"Do you think that it's okay for her to date the Izumi girl?"

"… y-yes. I think's it is completely fine for them to be dating. There's nothing wrong with it"

Miki jumped in "Well, we don't really see anything bad with it. We're sort of just worried about what others might say. I would make life really hard for the two of you."

"And majority of our family is not keen on same sex relationships…" Tadao said thoughtfully.

"We're not saying no" Miki interjected "But we'll have to think about it for a few minutes. Would you mind leaving us with some privacy?"

The four daughters stood and walked out of the dining room.

While Inori and Matsuri pestered Tsukasa with questions, Kagami stood by the door, straining her ears to hear her parents.

"Hey, I was once like her. There's nothing wrong with dating girls"

_Mom was once yuri?_

"But Miki, you're not dating girls anymore are you? I get the feeling this will never last. I don't want her to get heart broken. It's even worse since Izumi's one of her friends"

"My relationships never lasted because I always ended up with girls I barely knew. By the time they got to know the real me, either the spark was gone or they found didn't like me."

_Wow. She was REALLY yuri… How many girls did she date before she ended up with dad?_

"She's already gotten to know Konata. And if they start dating, they may start to know a lot more. Who knows? Eventually they might grow to love each other like you and I did"

"But Miki-"

"No, Tadao. Our relationship started the same way and look where we are now. She just wants to know what it's like to date someone like you did. It will be a learning experience for her to say the least"

"… If you put it that way, then I guess it's alright. Its better she learns the ins-and-outs of relationships now than when she can't afford to mess up."

"Let's call them back in"

_Uh oh… _Kagami hastily moved away from the door.

Opening the door Miki peeked out her head and said "Come back in. We've made a decision."

Once all four girls had returned to their seats, Tadao began "We've decided…"

Tadao paused for effect, and the effect was the older sisters leaning forward on the edge of their seats and the twins sort of just limply looking down.

"… That we'd support Tsukasa in her relationship"

Following the said statements were cheers and congratulations, not to mention a few jealous complaints.

_I'm happy for Tsukasa._ Kagami thought with a smile. _Yeah… Happy…_

**Lucky ****Star **

[Hello, Hiragii residence]

_[Hi Kagamin]_

[Figures it would be you. Only you would call us in the middle of the night]

_[So… has Tsukasa…]_

[Yeah. Congratulation's by the way. Our parents said yes.]

_[Well… that's good… So how do you feel now that I'll be dating your sister?]_

[To be honest? A little jealous.]

_[Aww, Kagamin wants a slice of Konata cake?]_

[No! Jeez… I'm just a little jealous that both of you found someone before me. I sort of get the feeling that I'll be alone of the rest of my life.]

_[Is being alone so bad?]_

[…]

_[Besides, you're NOT alone. You've got me, right? You've also got Yu-chan, Miyuki, Minami, Patty-chan, Hiyori, and of course, Tsukasa.]_

[…]

_[And if you don't think you'll find that "One person" you want to spend the rest of your life with then stop thinking that. Sure, you're a pretty cold and scary person on the outside, but I know inside you're gentle and caring. You're a tsundere. You can't help it. You just need to find someone you'll accept the deredere AND tsuntsun, because that's who you really are]_

[You always manage to relate everything to anime… Someone who accepts who I really am, huh…]

_[You'll find that someone eventually Kagami. Who knows? Maybe that person's closer than you think]_

[… Thanks Konata.]

_[Don't mention it, Kagami]_

[Good night Konata]

_[Good night. See you tomorrow. Tell Tsukasa I'm looking forward to seeing her tomorrow]_

**Lucky ****Star **

"Oh dear. It seems I woke up rather early" were the words Miyuki spoke when she woke up three hours earlier than the time she normally wakes up. After failing to fall back asleep for nearly an hour, she stopped trying and decided to go to school.

So Miyuki found herself in her classroom, empty save for her. Until the door slid open and entered Minoru Shiraishi

"Oh, hello, Takara-san" Minoru said

"Good morning… Sebastian-san" Minoru sweat dropped

"It's Shiraishi actually. Minoru Shiraishi"

"Oh. I apologize. I remember Konata-san calling you Sebastian."

"Don't worry about it… You're here early. Might I ask why?"

"I had a dentist appointment yesterday. I ended up collapsing on the bed as soon as I got home"

"Yikes…" Minoru said empathetically, practically feeling the drills in his teeth just thinking of it.

"If I may, why are you this early?"

"Oh, I had a day off from work yesterday so I was able to sleep early. Early to bed early to rise, I guess."

"I didn't know you worked."

"I don't talk about it much since people don't really ask. I work at a radio show with Akira Kogami called Lucky Channel."

"I'm sorry. I can't quite say I'm familiar with it"

"Well, I can't blame you. Girls don't normally listen to our radio show anyway…"

"May I ask why?"

"Well, most of our target audience are otaku, so majority of the listeners are guys."

"… Oh I see… what's it about?"

"Well… It's mostly a comedy act between Akira and me that has a lot of dark humor. If you want to listen, we have an hour long segment on weekdays at six. FM channel 99.9"

"Yes. I'll listen"

And so, the two sat in their respective seats with an awkward silence permeating most of the room.

"Lovely weather we're having…" Minoru said in an attempt to break the silence

"Yeah…"

The attempt failed

_C'mon Minoru. If you stay in this room with nothing to talk about with this girl, you're gonna go crazy. If you're not gonna say anything, just get up and leave._ Minoru thought.

_Oh dear, this is very awkward. Minoru is a very nice guy but it seems he wouldn't be an entertaining friend…_ Miyuki thought to herself._ Just when I thought I would finally get a friend that was male…_

"Well, since we're going to be waiting for at least an hour before anyone gets here, let's go walk for a bit" Minoru said_. No Minoru. The idea was to leave the environment that caused the awkwardness, not bring it somewhere else. Idiot_

"Oh… It would be a pleasure" Miyuki replied. _Maybe it would be better if we had something to do other than just sit around._

Getting up, the two began walking the practically empty school grounds.

"What did you mean by 'it would be an hour before anyone gets here'?" Miyuki asked

"Oh? Well, most early birds would get here in around an hour, thirty minutes after that would be the rest of the school, thirty after that would be the latecomers"

"You seem quite sure about this"

"Well, it's not the first time I've woken up too early"

"Don't you try to go back to sleep?"

"Nah. I can't go back to sleep since by the time I'd wake up, third period would be starting."

They walked for several more minutes. For some reason, the awkward silence that filled the room did not follow them into the hallway, because, although they didn't really talk that much, the two of them didn't feel awkward.

Their walk somehow brought them to the nurse's office. Opening the door, they heard a familiar voice greet them

"Good morning Noru-kun. Good Morning Yuki-chan" Yutaka Kobayakawa beamed at them from the bed nearest the door, looking a little pale

"Hello there, Yu-chan" Minoru greeted

"Hello. Yutaka-san, you know Shiraishi-san?"

"Yeah. He's a nice guy. He sometimes stops by here"

"So, motion sickness again?" Minoru asked

"Yeah" Yutaka said "Sis always drives so fast"

Miyuki thought back to the time Yutaka's sister, Yui Narumi, had driven the Hiragii twins during their trip to the beach. _I guess it's not surprising Yutaka would feel car sick from that…_

Minami appeared from the back of the room, carrying a glass of water and some tablets, probably motion sickness medicine.

"Good morning Iwasaki-san." Minoru greeted

"Good morning, Minami-san" Miyuki greeted as well

"… Hello." Minami said with a nod. She looked Miyuki in the eyes and tilted her head

Miyuki eye smiled at her. Minami nodded and attended to Yutaka.

"C'mon. Let's leave those two be." Minoru said as he walked out the nurse's office.

Their walk led them to the track outside the school.

"Oh! Heya, Shiraishi!" Misao Kusakabe ran towards them

"Hey there Misao."

"Hey, you're one of Hiragii's friends. Yuki, right?"

"Miyuki, actually. But you may call me Yuki if you wish"

"Thanks Yuki-chan"

"So, how goes morning practice?" Minoru asked

"Doing pretty good so far. Our next game is in a few weeks. You gonna be MCing again?"

"Oh, maybe"

"Well, I better get back. Our break only last's five minutes and I've been talking to you two for three"

"Don't let us keep you"

With that, Misao ran back to the track and the two walked back to the school building

_I've never noticed this before, but Minoru seems to know a lot of people in this school. And he DID MC most of the events in the school…_ Miyuki thought to herself

Only now did Miyuki notice that the halls were much more alive than before. The number of people wandering and talking around them had grown to the point where Miyuki believed most of the students had arrived.

They reached the door to their classroom

"Good morning, Yuki-chan" Tsukasa, along with her sister greeted her

"Good morning Tsukasa-san, Kagami-san"

"Good morning Hiragii twins" Minoru greeted as well

"Oh… good morning… Sebastian-san" Tsukasa said nervously

"… It's Shiraishi, actually"

"Oh… sorry"

"No, don't men-" He was cut off by Kagami

"Yeah, whatever. Could we borrow Miyuki for a while"

"… Uh"

"I'm sorry, Shiraishi-san." Miyuki apologized

"Uh… don't worry. Go ahead. I'll see you in class I guess" Minoru entered the classroom

"You should be careful, Miyuki. I heard a lot of rumors about that guy" Kagami said as she eyed Minoru with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, he's actually a really nice guy" Miyuki said.

"Really? All of those rumors said he was some sort of otaku weirdo… well… worse of a weirdo than ours"

"He's actually very friendly, if a bit awkward."

"Hmm… I guess we shouldn't judge a book by its cover…" Kagami said. "… anyway, we have news for you. Tsukasa"

Tsukasa stepped forward "Miyuki, Konata and I-"

The bell rang, signalling the start of classes

"We'll tell you at lunch" Kagami said as she hurried to her classroom

After all of Class B got to their seats, Ms Nanako Kuroi entered.

"Alright. Time to start roll call" She looked around the class room before she began. "Izumi!"

The door slammed open. "Here! I'm not late!"

"So, what excuse you have for being late now?"

"Well I…" Konata seemed to stop moving for a bit "… I got nothing… the truth it is, then. I fell asleep on the train and ended up missing my stop"

"Well that was a bit disappointing. Get to your seat. You better be glad I'm lenient with this sort of thing"

Konata took her seat and roll call began.

**Lucky ****Star **

The lunch bell rang and Kagami immediately stood and walked out of the classroom, much to the dismay of Misao.

"Aww. Why can't Hiragii hang out with us more? I understand that she's in love with that chibi but why can't she just get together with her so she doesn't get my hopes up?"

"Well, maybe it's time to give up on her? It's unlikely for anything to get between them" Ayano said bluntly

"Aww Aya-chan. Why do you have to be so blunt about it…?" Misao said lamely "Besides, you're one to talk. How long has your relationship with my brother been going downhill? What do you see in that guy anyway? He's an asshole"

"Oh, the only one who says it's going downhill is him. From what I see, everything is going great."

"… Something tells me you're the problem in your relationship and not my brother…" Misao said quietly

"What was that?" Ayano eye smiled at Misao

_Uh oh…_ "I think I need some air. Going outside" Misao stood and briskly walked out the room

"That was close…" Misao breathed. She suddenly noticed Minoru by the windows, gazing at the street below.

"Heya, Shiraishi"

"Oh, Misao. How are you?"

"Oh, same old same old: Still in love; still unrequited." Misao gave him a mischievous smile. "What about you? Putting the moves on Yuki-chan earlier?"

"I wish. Being with her is one of the most awkward things I've ever done"

"Well, you're an awkward guy. Isn't that normal?"

"… Air heads can say some of the most painful things…" Minoru muttered

"You've met every single girl in this school by now, isn't there ONE person you think is your type?"

"Eh… not really"

"Wow, you are the most picky boy I've met. Beggars can't be choosers, dude."

"Says the girl who's been chasing someone for three years with no success"

"Hey! That particular someone is in love with another. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?"

"Yeah yeah. So still no progress?"

"Nope. Kagami's still as head over heels for that midget as ever."

"Well, you might have your chance. A few minutes ago, Izumi-san announced to the entire class that she and Tsukasa Hiragii are now dating."

"… WHAT" Misao made a run for room 3-C

"No, Misao!" Minoru grabbed Misao's shoulder and ended up face flat on the floor. Misao stopped in her tracks

"Ah! I'm sorry, are you okay?" She tried helping him up. "Oh god, you're bleeding!"

"Don't worry it's just a nosebleed…" He struggled to maintain balance as the sudden and unexpected loss of blood began getting to him. "I need some help getting to the nurse's office, though…"

"Here, I'll help you"

"This is why you're not allowed to run in the halls"

"Jeez, I said I'm sorry"

They stumbled towards the nurse's office

**Lucky ****Star **

As Kagami had finally gotten there the four began their discussion.

"Alright, Yuki-chan, remember earlier I was going to say something? Well, It's this: Kona-chan and I are" Tsukasa was cut off by Konata

"We're dating now!" She said in a too loud voice while hugging Tsukasa. Tsukasa couldn't help but blush as no doubt the entire class had heard Konata and saw the two hugging.

Miyuki looked at the two of them, and then glanced at Kagami. She glanced back and smiled, as if to say _'I'm happy for them'_

"I'm happy for the two of you" Miyuki said to the couple.

"I have an idea, let's go on a date on Friday, just the two of us"

"Ah!? But-"

"Well, it would defeat the purpose of a date if others were to come." Miyuki said helpfully

"Well… I guess it would be alright"

"Of course it would. I'm your girlfriend aren't I?"

As the two began planning their date Miyuki turned towards Kagami

"Are you really okay with this?" Miyuki asked with concern

"I can't say I'm not jealous, but yeah. They have my blessing and all that" Kagami answered.

"Hey Kagami, when do you think we'd reach third base" Konata suddenly asked

"Kagami, what's third base?" Tsukasa's question followed.

Both questions left Kagami stammering with an incredible blush.

**Lucky ****Star **

LUCKY CHANNEL!

Hiya Luckies!

I'm Akira Kogami and I will be your Navigator today.

It's just me today since my assistant has his day off today.

_Not that he deserves one… no good lazy…_

Oh? I'm getting a day off tomorrow? That's fantastic!

Anyway, let's start off today's lucky channel with a high energy song!

Here's a word from our sponsors, followed by _Hare Hare Yukia_ from _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_!

~This show is brought to you by Kyoto Animation~

*Hare Hare Yukai plays*

**Lucky ****Star **

**So yeah, Lucky Star. I'm dying to continue this story but I'm sort of neglecting my pokemon fanfic. Ah whatever. Inspiration will come when it wants to. Hahaha. I hate myself.**

**Oh. Btw, if you find any spelling or grammar mistakes, or any plot holes, don't hesitate to tell me**


	2. Something feels different

**Let's start this off with some replies. But first: Oh my god, people are reviewing! And they think it's interesting! I'm ecstatic right now, thank you. Anyway…**

**-Gigarot  
**Thanks for the info, I edited it accordingly. Also, Kagami: Who is she like? So far, the only ones I can think of are Azusa from K-on and Ayano from YuruYuri.  
One of the themes of this fic was actually told by Kagami in the previous chapter. Can you guess what it is? (Fun fact: I got most of the themes while browsing tumblr in the middle of the night)**  
-Guest #1  
**Grammar correction noted. I have a hard time looking for typos and such so it's a good thing people think to point them out. Thanks. Pacing is something I'm working on. I'm having trouble finding that balance. OOCness? Yeah, pretty OOC I guess. I toned down most of their personalities. It's easier for me to make natural enough reactions to certain situations.  
Also, yes I have self-esteem issues, but I tend to ignore them, else, play them for laughs. It's a coping thing, don't worry about it.**  
-Guest #2  
**I don't speak Spanish or anything but I used good-ol google translate.  
Yes. I'm also interested to see where this goes. I don't plan for this to go one for that long, but I don't really have any other plan than that.

**Now… on to the story!**

**LUCKY STAR**

The bell signaling the start of lunch resounded throughout Ryoo high. It was then that two girls began walking towards the nurse's office.

The girls in question were Yutaka Kobayakawa, and Minami Iwasaki. Minami was going to administer Yutaka's medicine and check her temperature and blood pressure.

"So they started dating?" Minami asked offhandedly

"Yeah. I think it's wonderful!" Yutaka said

Honestly, Minami wasn't really interested in the newfound relationship of Konata and Tsukasa. It wasn't something she was taught to be interested in. "The affairs of others are theirs and you should respect that" was what she'd learned as a child, so it's not surprising that Minami was not comfortable with talking about it with Yutaka.

They reached the nurse's office. Yutaka walked to the bed and Minami walked to the nurse's table, both of them having done this before.

"Here drink this" Minami handed Yutaka a glass of water and her medicine

"Thank you Minami" Yutaka drank the medicine and returned the glass to Minami

Minami took the glass and took it to the sink at the back of the room and washed it.

Yutaka sat on the bed, twiddling her fingers

_I want to tell Minami that I want to try dating as well… but it seems like she's not interested in dating…_ Yutaka lamented.

Minami walked back to Yutaka's bed, carrying an electronic thermometer and blood pressure meter. She strapped the blood pressure meter onto Yutaka's arm and inserted the thermometer into her ear.

After a beep, Minami removed the thermometer "Temperature's normal." She checks the blood pressure meter and then removes the strap. "Blood pressure is normal as well"

"Thank you Minami" Yutaka said glumly

"Hey now, why do you sound so down?" Minami asked with concern

"Well I've been thinking…" Yutaka looked down sadly but then looked up with a determined expression. "Minami"

"Yes?" Minami was taken aback.

"Will you go out with me?"

"…" Minami stared at Yutaka, face growing hotter and redder with each passing moment. "Uh…"

_How am I supposed to react to this? That was so sudden._ Minami asked herself. _I guess I'm not exactly against it…_

"Yutaka… I-" Minami wasn't able to finish as the door was opened violently by a student carrying a pale and bloody Minoru Shiraishi

"Nurse Fuyuki! We're gonna need some help!" The girl shouted

"Oh, Kusakabe, what happened to him!? Get him on the bed" Nurse Fuyuki Amahara ran to the two to help Minoru to the bed

"I don't know. He fell on his face and sort of started bleeding. It doesn't look like its stopping." Misao said, obviously distressed.

"Iwasaki, get the health officer of 3-B! Kobayakawa, this may get bloodier than you'd be comfortable with. Please leave, for the sake of your appetite."

"Yutaka, please listen to Nurse Amahara" Minami said as she left for room 3-B

"Okay. I'll see you in class" Yutaka said, not quite sure what to feel. She turned towards Minoru "I hope you get better Noru-kun"

The began walking back to her classroom

**LUCKY STAR**

"Well, it looks like lunch is over. I guess I'll see you guys later" Kagami stood up and walked out of Konata's classroom

Kagami saw Minami walking rather quickly towards her, before stopping in front of the door to Konata's classroom. She knocked, and then entered. A few seconds later, she emerged with a red haired girl Kagami recognized as the health officer for Konata's class.

_Huh… must be important_. Shrugging, Kagami walked into her own classroom. _Whatever she has to do, I wish her luck_

Kagami took her seat and wondered. _I wonder where Misao is._

**LUCKY STAR**

"Hey, Yu-chan" Hiyori Tamura asked as Yutaka arrived at the classroom just as the bell rang. "Where's Minami?"

"Oh, she's helping Nurse Amahara tend to a boy who's bleeding to death" Yutaka said nonchalantly

"Oh…" Hiyori couldn't think of anything to say. _How can she be so casual with it? Don't tell me… OH GOD SHE MUST BE A YANDERE OR SOMETHING_

Once again, Hiyori overreacts and ends up making a weird face.

"Hiyori? Are you okay?" Yutaka asked with concern "Was it something I said?"

_Yes, it's something you said! Oh my god, I can't take this!_

**LUCKY STAR**

Lunch was well beyond over when Misao returned to her classroom, looking more than a little worse for wear.

"I'm sorry I'm late Miss Sakuraba. I sorta had to do something at the nurse's office" Misao said with an apologetic smile

"I'll say. You look like you jumped in a blood bath." Said Sakuraba Hikaru, biology teacher and homeroom teacher of 3-C

"Eh…?" Misao looked at her uniform. Blood caked her clothes. "My god!"

"Change into your PE uniform" Miss Hikaru said offhandedly as she returned to her lesson

With a sigh, Misao picked up her PE uniform and went to the bathroom to change.

**LUCKY STAR**

In between classes, Miyuki walked up to the class health officer and asked about Minoru who had not returned since lunch

"He was sorta hospitalized" The girl said

"Oh dear. Was it serious?"

"To be honest? It shouldn't have been. It was just a nose bleed. For some reason, though, we couldn't get it to stop." Frustration evident in her voice, the girl continued "He was losing a lot of blood - nearly three cups by the time he passed out. That wasn't enough to kill him, true, but he won't be feeling good when he wakes up."

"That's rather alarming. I do hope he gets better"

"I'm more worried about that Misao girl he was with. She apparently tripped him by accident and is the reason he got the nose bleed" the girl said "Most people would get traumatized for causing someone to get hospitalized. She seems to be taking it well though."

The teacher walked in and the next class began

**LUCKY STAR**

After Miss Kuroi dismissed the class, Tsukasa receive another text from Kagami saying that she would be busy today as well.

"I don't really think she's busy, but I think she's giving us some alone time" Konata said as they changed their shoes at the front of the school.

"Oh, let me get that for you" Tsukasa, helped Konata open her shoe locker and switched the school shoes for her outside shoes.

"Thanks, Tsukasa. I've always hated that they put my shoe locker so high. I always have to tip toe to get the locker open"

"Don't worry, Kona-chan. If you need help I'll do what I can" Tsukasa said helpfully

"Hey…" Konata whispered as she dragged Tsukasa behind the shoe lockers

"What is it?"

"Those two" They peeked from behind the locker and saw Yutaka and Minami walk outside together. Konata narrowed her eyes in suspicion

"What's wrong? Is something unusual about them?" Tsukasa asked in confusion

"They weren't talking. Yutaka looked really nervous as well" Konata noted. "Let's follow them"

"But…"

"Don't worry. Kagami gave us this time to be alone right? Let's start by doing this. Tell you what, next time we get a chance like this, we do something you want to do."

"Er… okay…"

**LUCKY STAR**

It was the end of class for the school day but that didn't mean everyone would start leaving. The track team would begin afternoon practice in fifteen minutes. As such, Misao was performing warm ups and stretches.

Misao spotted Miyuki walking up to her

"Heya, Yuki-chan" Misao said

"Good afternoon Kusakabe-san" Miyuki greeted

"Please, call me Misao" Misao asked with a smile

"Ah… Sure. Hello Misao-san"

"So, I'm guessing you're asking about Shiraishi?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess?" Misao shrugged

"Er… well…"

"I don't know what happened after they took him to the hospital." Misao said "But I'm pretty sure he'll be alright."

"Oh… well, I hope you're right."

"So ya feeling the hots for him or something?" Misao teased

"Hmm…" Miyuki thought about it "You can think of it like that, but I don't see it that way"

"Wow. Didn't really think you'd take it seriously"

"Moreover, I'm worried for my friend's safety. I dislike most forms of injury and sickness. I'd rather have no one suffer."

"Hey, no one likes injury and stuff like that. Sometimes it just happens… It looks like practice is starting so I have to go now. Here's hoping Shiraishi comes back in one piece, eh?" Misao grinned before sprinting to the crowd of track runners that was forming on the far end of the field.

Miyuki waved goodbye before walking back to the school building, which got Misao wondering.

_Why would anyone _go back_ to school after it ends?_

**LUCKY STAR**

"H-hey Minami… where are we going?" Yutaka asked as she followed Minami

"To a playground near the school" Minami answered

Earlier, Minami had asked Yutaka to go with her to somewhere after school. Yutaka happily agreed.

They had reached the playground. Minami sat on one of the swings and Yutaka sat on the other.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Yutaka asked

"Well…" Minami began nervously "I'd like to say yes… I'll go out with you"

Yutaka stared at her "… Eh?"

"… Earlier you said you wanted start to going out…"

"… oh" Yutaka suddenly exploded in a blush "uh-uh-uh. Thanks."

"… You forgot about it?" Minami asked

"Eh… I guess I did. It didn't seem like you were going to say yes. You were really unreadable when I asked you" Yutaka looked down.

Minami stood up. "Don't worry, Yutaka. If it's you, it's fine" She reassured Yutaka with hug.

"Thank you" Yutaka returned the hug "Does that mean we're boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"Well…" Minami was not quite sure how to react. "… both of us are girls so there wouldn't be a boyfriend…"

"Oh… That makes sense"

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami was back at the library, idly flipping pages through her text book. She had all but memorized the entire lesson, so technically there was no reason for her to be studying, here she was, all because she needed to get away from Konata and Tsukasa for a while

"Hello Kagami-san" Miyuki happily took seat at her table.

Kagami looked up to see Miyuki across the table. "Hey, Miyuki-san"

"I take it that you're still trying to digest the fact that they're dating?"

"Yeah. It was unexpected, I'll give them that" Kagami closed her book and rested her head on her arms "I'm happy for them I guess" Kagami said wistfully

"Is something wrong?" Miyuki asked

"I don't know Miyuki…" Kagami shifted in her seat "Part of me is genuinely happy that they're together now. Another part of me… not so much…"

"Well, we're in a quiet environment with not that many people and I'm ready to listen. If there was any time to talk about it, now would be a good one" Miyuki said helpfully

"… Well…" Kagami pondered a bit "I just feel so weird right now… When I look at the two of them I feel like there's this lump in my chest that makes it hard to breathe, but at the same time, I feel this warm bubbly feeling that makes me giddy."

Miyuki just nodded along

"A-and sometimes… I feel this… this irrational rage. When I think of them being together, I sometimes just get so angry. At Konata; at Tsukasa; at myself. I don't know, Miyuki…"

Miyuki was slow to respond "…I'm… not very good at emotional help… and I'm only familiar with one of the feeling you described… but I HAVE read many books on psychology, and when I think about the way you describe it… I'd say you're in love and you're jealous of them"

"… what?" Kagami sat up, confused

"Perhaps you're in love with Konata, or someone else, but when you think of Konata and Tsukasa, you feel very frustrated that the one you love doesn't reciprocate your feelings"

"… Oh"

"This is all guess work, Kagami. I may have read books about psychology, but I'm no expert."

"… actually… it makes sense…"

"Huh?"

"I must be in love with Konata"

"Kagami, please don't put too much trust into what I said. There is a large possibility I'm wrong" Miyuki pleaded

"No. I don't think you're wrong Miyuki. Look back on the times we've shared with each other. Even back then, I was in love with her"

"… hmmm now that you mention it… Oh my, its rather obvious looking back isn't it?"

"Yeah… Kind of embarrassing to be honest…" Kagami said with a blush as she realized this.

"You WERE closer to her than any of us" Miyuki noted

"Yeah… Does she know?" Kagami wondered

"If she did, I don't think she ever showed any indication of it"

Kagami sighed "I get the feeling that if I asked her before Tsukasa did, she would say yes…"

"Hmm… I get the feeling that would be how all of us would be." Miyuki said

"What? Why?"

"Well…" Miyuki began "Most of us are rather inexperienced when it comes to love and romance. If given an opportunity, we would jump at it."

"Eh… sounds a bit farfetched" Kagami said skeptically

"Hear me out. If Konata-san asked you on a date, would you say yes?"

Kagami blushed "I… well… I'd… maybe… yes…"

"If I were to ask you on a date would you say yes?"

"Well… Why not, I guess?"

"If Misao-san were to ask, would you say yes?"

"Wait, how do you know who… never mind. Yes."

"If Shiraishi-san-"

"Alright, I get it - get it. I'd say yes if someone asked… but no, I wouldn't say yes to just anyone. I think Minoru's a weirdo, so…"

"As I've stated before, he's actually a nice guy"

"Okay, fine. He's a nice guy – still won't make me want to date him more than I already do."

"So what are you going to do now? We could always try dating. We both want to know what it feels like, but both you and I know it would only be a distraction from the one you feel an attraction to" Miyuki stated bluntly

"…" Kagami thought for a while before laughing "Wow. Everything feels so much clearer now but I still don't know what to do"

"Do you feel better, though?"

"Well… I don't feel as bad now. Thanks Miyuki"

"What are friends for?"

With that Miyuki stood. "Well, I'll be going now. I have a show I'd like to listen to today that I hope is not cancelled."

"Really?"

"Yes. A friend recommended it."

**LUCKY STAR**

"Man those two were cute" Konata commented on Yutaka and Minami's pairing up as she sat on top of the monkey bars.

"Yeah" Tsukasa agreed as she swayed back and forth on the swing.

"Theirs was so different from ours." Konata said

"You're right. When I asked if you'd go out with me you said-"

"'Wow, all it took was a single flag', right?" Konata said, complete with the over exaggerated voicing. Tsukasa laughed.

"I didn't expect someone else to start dating because of us." She said curiously "Is it true that Yu-chan asked you for advice on how to start dating someone?"

"Yeah. She seemed a bit different ever since she found out about us" Konata noted "Kind of like when doujin authors mischaracterize anime characters in their works. Kind of weird seeing it in real life though."

"Eh?" Tsukasa didn't understand

"Come to think of it, nearly everyone's changed ever since we started dating." Konata noted "I didn't think it would happen so quickly. It's only been a day since we started"

"Um…" Tsukasa still didn't understand what Konata was saying.

"Oh…" Konata noticed how confused Tsukasa was "… Sorry. I was just talking to myself."

"Don't worry Konata. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean I'll stop you"

"Hey, don't think I won't stop trying to get you to understand. I may be weird, but I want us to be able to understand each other"

"Oh… okay"

"Hey, now. Don't feel bad. We'll understand each other better the longer we're together."

"Okay."

"So… wanna go to Gamerz?"

Tsukasa smiled "Sure"

**LUCKY STAR**

[And that song was brought to you by _Studio Shaft_. One of the opening themes for _Bakemonogatari_ called _Sugar Sweet Nightmare_.

Hello, I am Minoru Shiraishi and welcome to…]

**[LUCKY CHANNEL!]**

[I will be your navigator today since Miss Akira has HER day off today. I had mine yesterday and she picked up the slack for me so I've gotta put in as much effort today as I can!

Also, on a side note, earlier today, I had one of the most terrible nose bleeds I've ever had. Had to be hospitalized and missed half the school day. But I'm fine now so no need to worry!

Now, let's start off today's lucky channel as we always do! Our next song is brought to you by _Media Factory_. _Baka Go Home_, the ending theme from the first season of _Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts_. Enjoy!]

*_Baka Go Home_ starts playing*

**LUCKY STAR**

"So how did your friends react to learning that you're dating" Miki Hiragii asked Tsukasa as the rest of the Hiragii family ate dinner

"Well, they were really happy for me. Although it was a bit embarrassing since Konata shouted to the entire class that we're dating…"

Tadao swallowed the curry he was eating. "How did everyone react, then"

"Well, there was a mix of praise and… people complaining that they were jealous and…" Tsukasa was trying hard

"Don't forget the boys who apparently had crushes on Tsukasa crying their eyes out." Kagami joked, earning a laugh and chuckle here and there

"Sis, that's not nice" Tsuakasa said

"Not nice, yeah, but it's freakin' hilarious" Matsuri laughed

Tsukasa frowned and continued eating

**LUCKY STAR**

"OH MY GOD THEY GROW UP SO FAST!" Sojiro was cried tears of joy upon hearing the Yutaka and Minami began dating

"Jeez, dad. Cry anymore any we're gonna have a flood" Konata deadpanned

Yutaka sweat dropped

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good evening. I'm glad you could come over, Honoka" Yukari Takara, mother of Miyuki greeted Honoka Iwasaki, mother of Minami.

"Good evening. The pleasure is mine" Honoka said

"Good evening, Minami-san" Miyuki greeted Minami

Minami responded with a nod.

"Well… why are we just standing here? Shall we eat?" Yukari gestured to follow her to the dining room. And follow they did.

After a few minutes of quiet eating, Honoka started a conversation. A very embarrassing conversation, in the case of Minami

"I have great news." Honoka began. "Minami is now in-item with someone"

The news was met with surprise looks followed by congratulatory praises from the Takaras – more so from Yukari than Miyuki – and an intense blush by Minami.

"That's wonderful." Yukari said "So who's the lucky boy?"

"Oh, if you found Minami's acquisition of a significant other surprising, you'll be even more surprised who it is" Honoka said with a certain pride that made Minami head all but explode in a shower of blood from her embarrassment.

"She's actually with a girl" Honoka continued "Her best friend in fact. A certain Yutaka Kobayakawa"

Yukari seemed to falter a bit "Well… I guess you were right. I did not expect that"

Miyuki looked at her mother, somehow worried

"Ah, such is the way of things" Honoka said. "Young love is a strange beast"

"Young love indeed" Yukari agreed "I hope it works out with them"

Minami and Miyuki, not quite sure how to react to how their parents were talking, glanced at each other, probably hoping to find the answer by looking at the other. Alas, it proved useless as both did not understand their parents' behavior.

Resigning to the fact that they would not find out why their parents talked the way they did, Miyuki and Minami ate in silence as their parents continues talking about whatever topic they found interesting.

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hello, Shiraishi Residence. Minoru speaking]

[Hey]

[Oh, Miss Akira. This was unexpected. Good evening]

[… Yeah, good evening… So I heard the Lucky Channel broadcast earlier… is it true you got hospitalized…?]

[Er… Yeah. I'm fine, though. As long as I don't do PE tomorrow, I'll be able to come to work.]

[… Oh, that's good… Um… _Yeah, you better come to work. If I have to pick up your slack again, you're gonna regret it._]

[Thank you for your concern. Don't worry, Miss Akira.]

[… okay then… bye… _you better show up_]

[Good night Miss Akira]

**LUCKY STAR**

[Takara residence, Miyuki speaking. How may I help you?]

[Hey Miyuki-san]

[Kagami-san, good evening]

[Evening…]

[So what's on your mind?]

[Well… you know how I realized I was in love with Konata earlier today?]

[Yes.]

[The thing is… I want to get over her. Do you think you can help?]

[Oh dear… Well, I've never been in love so "getting over" a love would be difficult for me to help with.]

[It's okay. For some reason I don't want to ask my parents so I'll be fine with you… That sounded offensive, I'm sorry]

[Relax, Kagami-san. Now… as I said, I'm not quite sure how to go about this, but maybe it'll help if you find out when your attraction to Konata-san started.]

[… well… hmm…]

[Take your time, Kagami-san. There's no need to rush.]

[… I guess we'll just continue tomorrow?]

[If you want to]

[Alright, let's continue this tomorrow… let's meet at the library after school again?]

[Very well. Goodnight, Kagami-san]

[Goodnight Miyuki-san… and thanks]

[Anything for a friend]

**LUCKY STAR**

**So yeah, short chapter this time. Still haven't found a good pace for the story though. I must work on not sucking so much.**

**BTW, if you guys haven't figured it out yet, my favorite characters are Misao and Minoru. So that's a little biased considering they're the only side characters who get a ton of content (at this point, about as much as the main characters). Don't I have great prioritizing skills? Hahaha no I don't. **

**So anyway, Typos, grammar mistakes, plot-holes. If you spot any, it'd be helpful if you guys tell me about it. Reviews are appreciated.**


	3. For every minus, there is a plus

**Yay, a new chapter(?)**

**Gigarot  
I haven't watch Kiniro Mosaic yet so I didn't know.  
Oh, you are quite right. She's overthinking things. But you will find that while all hope is not lost, hope hard to come by for people that think too much.  
Minami will be having problems with Yukari? Whatever do you mean? Hahaha I suck at sarcasm**

**Guest #1  
Looks like another job for google translate...  
I'm a yuri enthusiast but I'm not too keen on the "everyone gets a partner" thing. Not everyone will end up getting paired with someone because it's not like not like they _need_ to be. If I _do_ end up pairing everyone, well that's just how it goes.  
And No, Minoru won't be getting a threesome at any time at all in this fic.**

**So here's chapter two. "For every minus, there is a plus". I wrote it at the same time as the next chapter. It used to be one big chapter but I decided to split it because of the dissonance in tone between the _coinciding moments_ (Get it? Yes? No? Maybe?). Some scenes were too light hearted to be put with the other scenes that they coincide with. So anyway, here's this chapter.  
Fair warning: This chapter will contain melodramatic angst cause by misunderstandings and an overactive imagination**

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami awoke to something akin to a miracle that Friday morning. She was stirred by Tsukasa attempting to wake her up.

"This is surprising. Normally it's me that's the one who's waking her twin." Kagami said wryly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I surprised myself too" Tsukasa said cheerfully "C'mon, breakfast's ready"

"I'll be down in a bit" Kagami said, sitting up

Tsukasa slid the door closed. Kagami waited until Tsukasa's footsteps faded.

She sighed, in a mix of relief, anxiety, and more than a little ironic pride.

_Wow. For all the bad habits she has, Konata seems to be a really good influence on Tsukasa. This is the third morning this week that she's woken up early_ Kagami mused. _She's even asking me for help with homework more often… although it could just be because Konata's copying off of her now instead... It would mean Konata's still dependent on me, except not directly… It also means Tsukasa's now dependent on me too. That means by the time we become college students, those two would… Darn it, Kagami, you're over thinking things again! _Kagami shook her head to dispel prior thoughts

_… Those two are together now… They've been together for nearly a week now… So much has changed with the two of them, but at the same time, it feels like they're still the air headed sister and weird otaku I know and love… love…_ Kagami's brows furrowed. _I said I wanted to get over my love for Konata, but let's face it, I wasn't being serious. And even in I WAS serious I probably wouldn't have made any more progress than I have now… _

She got out of bed and began changing into her uniform.

_Ah whatever. I'm probably overthinking things again. I guess it's better to just let it be. Hopefully my problems will just fix themselves._

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good work, Kusakabe. That was your fastest time yet." The track team captain praised.

"Really? That's awesome!" Misao pumped her fist with a sense of accomplishment.

"Wanna' try for faster?"

"I sure do!"

Misao was having morning practice with the track team – Her last practice before summer break.

Being a track runner herself, it meant she ALWAYS had to attend practice, regardless of how early the training session starts. This became a good thing as Misao got into the habit of waking up early.

"Your time is exactly the same, down to the milliseconds." The captain scratched her head. "I'm not even disappointed that it isn't faster. That was amazing, as always"

Misao had the reputation of being the runner with the most consistent times out of all of the track team. It was probably because of all the stamina she had. For whatever reason, she could just run at full sprint for an hour and not tire at all. This proved to be a problem in most cases as her boundless energy caused her to be restless, but on the track, it was something worthy of praise.

And praise it did get. Misao almost constantly got complimented on her performance on the track, but somehow, she remained indifferent to the positive reactions of her peers. She did not get why, but that was how she felt

_Alright… She gave me a ten minute break…_ Misao thought as she ran to the nearest water fountain.

"Good morning Misao!" voice from above called

Recognizing the voice, Misao looked up "Shiraishi!?"

Sure enough, Minoru Shiraishi was on the third floor, waving down at Misao

"Hey! How are you!? You still weak from the nose bleed!?" Misao yelled

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine!"

"Kusakabe, who the hell are you talking to!?" The captain shouted from the other side of the field

"Oh! I'm talking to Shiraishi! You know, our MC in the last game!?"

"Well you better stop! It's distracting the others!"

"We should do as she says! We don't want to disturb more people!" Minoru said "I'll see you later"

"Okay then! See you later"

With a wave goodbye, Minoru disappeared into the school building.

_I'm glad he's okay now_. Misao thought. _And seeing him reminds me of something. Now that the squirt's with Tsukasa, I can finally make a move on Kagami… Wow, I've been thinking that all week and I STILL haven't made my move. But you'll do it today, Misao. Come on, Misao! You can do it! Believe in yourself! Believe in the "me" that believes in you!_

Having sufficiently pumped herself for something she couldn't exactly do at that exact moment, Misao found herself unsurprisingly giddy. Luckily, she still had at least half an hour of practice left so she should be able to burn off that excess energy.

She sprinted back to the field

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami had opted not to visit today, and Konata and Tsukasa were with Yutaka and Minami discussing what they'd be doing for their double date that afternoon, leaving Miyuki to chat with one of her few other friends, Minoru Shiraishi.

Having jumped awkwardly from topic to topic, the two found themselves at a loss for words. They couldn't think of anything to talk about and hoped that a subject of conversation would come from somewhere.

They did not expect what they received.

"You think you know everything about me!" They heard from the hall

"That sounded like Kagami" Miyuki said with concern

"I did it because I'm in love with you!" said another voice

"That other one was Misao" Minoru said tensely

"What do you think happened?" Miyuki asked in mild distress

"Well, obviously they got in a fight." Minoru said "What do you think it was about?"

"I don't know…" _I don't like this…_

A few moments later, the door to their classroom slid open and Ayano Minegeshi entered.

**LUCKY STAR**

That lunch, Kagami decided not to visit Konata's classroom. Over the course of a week, she felt more and more like the odd-man-out when eating lunch with them. So she stayed in Room 3-C and ate with Misao and Ayano.

Misao and Ayano were gladdened that their childhood friend had blessed them with her presence. Even more so with Misao – She was ecstatic.

_It's not like I don't want to be with them, but I liked it better when I ate with Konata._ Kagami thought as she chewed. _But right now, being with her… I don't like the feeling I get when I'm near her now… I don't know why…_

_Alright, Misao, you have the perfect opportunity today. She's right there. You just have to charge head on and hope for the best._ As Misao gave herself a mental pep talk, she wolfed down her food as if it were the first meal she's had in days

As the two partook in their meal and mental machinations, Ayano had lost her appetite. _I don't like this tension in the air. It's like two volatile chemicals were sitting dangerously close to each other, and the moment they touch… boom…_

_Why do I feel this way…?_

_C'mon, Misao, just say it!_

_I have a bad feeling about this…_

_Here goes._ "Hey Hiragii…" Misao began.

_Just perfect… *sigh*_ "… what is it, Misao?" Kagami asked dryly.

"Um…" Misao gulped

"Well? Spit it out" Kagami said

"Well…" Misao coughed a bit. "Tsukasa is dating the midg-… is dating Konata, right?"

_Why do you have to remind me?_ "Yes. What about them?" Kagami asked, slightly irritated

_Alright, maybe I shouldn't have started with that… Well, can't take it back now. Keep going Misao_. "Well… I haven't really noticed any changes with them."

"Oh, believe me, they've changed." Kagami said offhandedly.

"I… well… You know how they became a couple because they wanted to… you know… find out what it's like to be dating someone?"

"Yes. I do. I was the one who told you about them" Kagami said, getting even more irritated

_Actually, I first heard it from Shiraishi, but I'm not gonna tell her that._ "Well… I was wondering if you-"

"Look, Misao, if you're gonna be talking about Konata and Tsukasa, I might as well have stayed with THEM for lunch"

In an action that was clearly done without thinking, Misao retorted "It's not like you don't always do that anyway" _Aww crap, why did I say that…_

"Well maybe it's because you're a terrible friend? You're observant RIGHT? You must have noticed how I've been avoiding them the entire week" Kagami was no longer annoyed. She was pissed.

"Well I-"

"You think I'm overthinking something again, don't you? You think you know everything about me!" She looked upon Misao with mistrust fueled by misunderstanding and an overactive imagination.

"Hiragii-"

"Tell me, Misao. You were able to tell how I was feeling last Monday and cheered me up. Why is it that now you're trying so hard to talk to me when I am clearly not in the mood to talk?"

"I-"

"You know what? I'm STILL not in the mood to talk. I'm leaving" Kagami stood up and packed her lunch and began walking to the door.

"I did it because I'm in love with you!" Misao said desperately

Kagami stopped for a second when she heard that, eyes wide with surprise, but she got over it quickly, face becoming a stony glare once more before she walked out.

The two had caused quite a scene. Everyone in the room, as well as quite a few people outside had heard them. Whispers began circulating among the spectators.

Ayano looked at the people in her classroom, and then to Misao. She did not like what she was seeing

Misao sat in her seat, with a defeated expression. "… I'm sorry" She whispered as tears began forming a stream down her cheeks.

_… No._ Ayano stood up and stormed out of the classroom

**LUCKY STAR**

The door to Class 3-B opened and in peeked Ayano. Her face was not cheery as it normally was. She gestured for Minoru to come to her. Minoru came and Miyuki followed suite

"Misao confessed to Kagami-san" Ayano said. "I'm pretty sure you heard it"

"Yeah, we heard…" Minoru said

"Her timing wasn't good, and her choice of opening topic to segue from was questionable. Kagami ended up misinterpreting where Misao was going with it. But she overreacted. Misao's crying right now. I need to have a talk with Kagami. Could you comfort Misao for me?"

"Uh… I'll do my best"

"Would you like me to accompany you when you face Kagami?" Miyuki asked

"No, I think I can handle it. Please just help Misao out. I can't stand seeing her like that. Please"

"You got it, Minegeshi-san"

"Yes, Minegeshi-san, we will do all that we can to help her"

"Thank you"

The three parted ways – with Ayano walking further along the hall to the stairs, and Miyuki and Minoru walking towards Misao's classroom. Sure enough, when they got there, Misao was crying.

"Hey…" Minoru approached her

"… Yo…" Misao began wiping her face. She gave a forced smile "What's up?"

"… Misao, let's go outside for a bit" he held out his hand

"… S-sure" She said as happily as she could. It wasn't convincing. She took his hand and he helped her up.

Minoru brought her out of the classroom to the far end of the hall, where there weren't many people. Misao leaned on the wall next to a window, sliding to the ground as she went into a fetal position. Miyuki and Minoru took places to either side of her

"So…" Minoru said as he leaned on the wall next to her, looking out the window.

"So…" Misao repeated his words. At this point her tears had dried "…I feel bad…"

"HOW bad do you feel?" Minoru asked

"Heh. Feel pretty bad. What do you expect? I was springing the water works back there" Misao said with a sad smile and unfocused eyes, tilting her head up slightly

"I'm guessing you didn't think things through again?"

"Yeah. Kinda stupid of me." She said bitterly

"Not surprising though" Minoru said offhandedly

"Minoru, you meanie. I was crying just now wasn't I? That's how you're treating me?" Misao forced a tease

"You're not crying now, are you?" Minoru retorted, trying to bring the mood up

"Heh. You got me there." Misao sighed. She tilted her head back, leaning it onto the wall. "I just charged right in."

"Didn't even try to plan ahead?" Minoru assumed

"Kept going even though I saw things were getting bad"

"And now look where you are"

Misao laughed sadly. "Yeah. A teary eyed mess."

"So what are you going to do now? Wallow in unhappiness?"

"Nah. That's not like me…" Misao breathed deeply and exhaled loudly. She seemed to steel herself "Well, what's done is done. At least I finally confessed"

"Granted, she's probably still pissed at you" Minoru said

"Heh. Probably?" Misao joked. "Welp" She stood up "Thanks. I don't feel entirely okay yet, but you helped."

"You should thank Ayano. She's the one who asked me to talk to you" Minoru said modestly

"I'll thank her too" Misao said. The turned to go to her classroom "Alright. I'm going back to class. Thanks again"

"Don't mention it" Minoru said, giving her a supportive smile and a thumbs-up.

After a few seconds of watching Misao return to her class room, Miyuki spoke up "That was an interesting way of comforting someone"

"Well, that was what I thought Misao would need." Minoru said. "Besides, I can't exactly give her a hug and tell her everything's gonna be alright. For one, Misao probably wouldn't believe me; for another, people might think things"

"I see."

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

"Shall we return to class?" Miyuki asked

"It's not like we have a choice" Minoru joked as they walked back to their room.

**LUCKY STAR**

Ayano had been friends with Kagami and Misao for years. She didn't like it when her friends fought. Unfortunately, this had not been the first time Kagami and Misao fought. They had once fought during their first year. Keeping that incident in mind, Ayano searched for Kagami.

Just as the time they were first year, Ayano found Kagami at the far end of the hallway leading to the cafeteria. She was sitting in a fetal position in a small alcove in a wall, probably build to be a supply closet or a space for a vending machine but was never used.

"What do you want?" Kagami asked in a hostile tone

Ayano frowned "Kagami-san, please stop this. Misao didn't mean for this to happen"

"Yes she did. She had to have known how I was feeling but she still pushed me."

"I'll admit her timing was bad. She didn't mean to make you mad. You know what she's like. She didn't know what she was doing"

Kagami stood. "She said she loved me, Ayano. Is this what someone in love does!?"

"One will do crazy things for love" Ayano quoted

"And stupid things" Kagami retorted. "If she really loved me, she could have just told me!"

"Yes. She could have. What she did wasn't like her. But shouting at her wasn't like you either."

"Oh yes it is! What isn't like me is eating lunch with you guys. That's probably why Misao acted that way. She wanted me pissed! She wanted me to leave. She chose the best topic to get me angry!"

"Kagami, you're overreacting." Ayano said in a desperate attempt to convince her. "This is just a misunderstanding. Whatever you're thinking, it isn't the case"

"You're just like her! You think I'm overthinking things too don't you!"

Ayano's frown became a smile "You know what? I give up. You seem convinced that Misao did this on purpose and I can't convince you otherwise" She said with the tone of someone who no longer gave a damn "If talking won't work, then we'll have to do it the hard way"

Ayano took hold of Kagami's shirt and pushed her back against to the wall with a force just a few newtons short of cracking her ribs.

"Misao is crying right now. She was devastated, Kagami. Face it, you overreacted." Ayano said in an unnervingly light hearted tone, all the while, her smile – her usual, innocent looking smile – remained still on her face, unsettling Kagami immensely.

"What will it take to convince you that this is a misunderstanding?" She asked, her smile slowly growing wider "Should I have dragged Misao here so you can see what you did – So you could stare at a broken, weeping, girl? Will that help you see the truth? Tell me, what measures must I take to convince you?"

Ayano's expression became emotionless. "Maybe I need to get violent. Do you want me to get violent?" Her face returned to its earlier expression, with both her ever-disturbing smile and misleadingly kind-looking eyes, both growing wider than before, giving her a psychotic aura. "Because I can and I will"

_Oh god, help me. I-I-I've forgotten how scary Ayano can become w-w-w-when she's angry._ Kagami was speechless from fear.

And guilt. …And _Misao's crying… She never cries... I did that…?_

"I'm waiting for your answer Kagami. What do I have to do?" She tilted her head to the side

_I was just annoyed at her. I thought she was trying to tease me about Konata and Tsukasa. I didn't mean to make her cry. I guess I WAS overthinking things back there._ Kagami thought. _And she said she loved me… Me… The me that always ignored her… The me that yelled at her when she was going to confess… She must hate me now. To her, I must have all but outright rejected her. Our friendship is over… I just wanted to be away from her for a while, but now we'll be separated forever. It's already hard for me to make friends. The few friends I have are precious to me. I can't lose them! I god I messed up! I lost her! I won't be able to get her back!_

Ayano let go of Kagami when she noticed Kagami was muttering to herself with a teary-eyed panicked expression. "Oh dear, I may have gone too far."

She shook Kagami by the shoulders. No response. Kagami seemed to fall forward into Ayano who was quick to catch her.

"She's lost consciousness…" Ayano sighed. "… I'm sorry Kagami…"

She slung Kagami's arm around her shoulder and began carrying her to the nurse's office.

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami came to in a bed in the nurse's office.

_How did I get here?_ She thought.

After a few seconds of pondering, she was torn from her moment of recollection by the sound of a bell. The school bell to be exact. Class was over, as Kagami realized when she looked at the clock on the wall.

_Wow. I missed all of the subjects after lunch… Lunch!_ The memory hit Kagami like a truck. _Misao… I made her cry…_

She felt an immense mass of guilt press weigh down on her, threatening to crush the insignificant individual under it.

_I answered her confession by storming out the room. How am I going to face her now?_

Kagami sighed.

She began looking around the room. Some beds look like they've been recently slept on; there was a cup of tea on the nurse's table, possibly left because nurse Amahara had to go to the bathroom; Her bag was set on the table beside her bed, most likely brought there by her class' health officer.

_I just realized something. Ayano must have brought me here_… It was a strange realization, but Kagami felt happy that despite Ayano's probable anger towards her, she still considered Kagami a friend. _She still cares about me… even though I…_

Kagami blinked. She suddenly felt a folded sheet of paper land on her stomach. She sat up to see who had thrown the paper but was only able to see a flash of light orange hair escape through the closing door.

_Ayano…?_ She wondered.

Turning her attention to the paper, she unfolded it. It was a letter. _So it WAS from Ayano…_

[_Dear Kagami-san_

_I apologize for causing you to faint. I did not mean for that to happen._

_Misao is better now. She is a hard girl to put down, and an even harder one to keep down. All she needed was time to get her thoughts straight, as I hope you have done. She was actually saddened because you two were not able to reconcile yet for your fight during lunch. She'd like to talk to you as soon as possible._

_I hope you're alright Kagami. Misao's willing to say sorry. I hope you're just as willing to forgive her, and vice versa._

_Again, I'm sorry I confronted you as I did. I was driven by my emotions and said things I did not mean to. Perhaps if I had not spoken to you, this issue would have been resolved sooner. Either way, what's past is past._

_To reiterate, Misao wants to see you, and I'm sorry about earlier._

_– Ayano Minegeshi_]

Kagami just stared at the paper, reading it over and over again as if she were looking spelling and grammatical mistakes in it.

_This is too good to be true. She would forgive me? Just like that?_ Then Kagami remembered it was Misao. She smiled bitterly_. Do I really not know my friends at all?_

"Good afternoon Miss Hiragii" Nurse Amahara had emerged from the bathroom. "Did you have a good rest?"

"Good afternoon. Yes, ma'am. I did" Kagami shifted so that she was sitting at the edge of the bed

"You seem to be having these break downs often. Is there something bothering you? Perhaps you'd like some therapy?"

"No. I think I'm good" She began shifting through her bag to see if anything was missing

"Well, okay. You're free to go. Don't overexert yourself"

"Thank you. Don't worry I won't" Seeing as all her stuff was intact, she stood bag in hand and walked out the nurse's office

She walked the hallway, half empty with students lingering at the school after class for whatever reason.

She stopped at her shoe locker, pondering what she would do next._ She's most likely at practice right now. I can probably just watch until she's done. _With that thought, she switched shoes and began walking to the field.

**LUCKY STAR**

Misao ran with all her strength, agility, and will power. She had already beaten her record which she set earlier that day. In fact, she had beaten it again in her second run, and third, and so on – each successive run faster than the last. Despite this, the team captain was not pleased

"Kusakabe, you're running yourself ragged – literally! What's going on with you?" She saw that Misao wasn't listening. "Kusakabe! Get you head outta the clouds!"

"Oh… Sorry. I had something on my mind" Misao gave an apologetic smile

"Seriously, Kusakabe. As glad as I am that you're getting better times, I don't want anyone on this team to collapse from exhaustion. You're over doing it."

"Sorry. It's just that… running helps me think, you know?"

The captain sighed. "Yeah. I know what you mean… Tell you what, I'm gonna have you jog laps and clear your head. After that, you're free to go."

"But-" The captain cut her off.

"No buts, Kusakabe. You've done enough for today" She gave a supportive smiled "Relax"

"… Okay"

She began jogging. After a little over fifteen minutes, she got bored and told the captain that she would be going home. She began walking back to the locker room before she saw a girl with lavender hair sitting under a tree on the slope of a grassy hill at the edge of the track.

_Kagami?_ Misao wondered. _What's she doing there?_

She decided she would find out and began jogging there

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami had chosen sit under a nice little tree on the hill at the edge of the track. She was glad she chose that location because the shade was cool, the breeze was soothing, and the grass was soft.

She watched Misao run, amazed at her speed and form; how she surged forward with one fluid motion the moment the whistle was blown; how she ran with graceful strides to push her forward; and most of all, how her face gave off the aura of determination and seriousness that Kagami didn't think possible of Misao.

Seriousness was something she simply didn't think of when the thought of Misao. It was surreal for her to find out that being serious was in fact something Misao could do – something she did regularly if she was like that all the time during practice.

Thinking back, Kagami realized that there were a lot of things she didn't know about Misao. Hell, she knew more about her underclassmen than she did about her classmate. Misao, however, had figured out a lot about Kagami from simple observation. _Just when I thought I couldn't feel any guiltier_

Kagami shook her head. _Stop thinking about that, Kagami, you're gonna end up passing out again or something._

By the time Misao began running laps, Kagami had gotten bored of watching people run and her mind began to wander.

_I wonder what Konata's doing. She's having that double date with Tsukasa, Yutaka, and Minami, so she must be having fun…_ And so Kagami began daydreaming.

After a few minutes, she realized she had been staring into empty space. With a tense fervor, she darted her eyes up and down and all around, looking for someone – anyone who had seen her in a daze. With a sigh of relief, she found none had seen her daydreaming.

She did however see Misao walking to the locker room, before stopping abruptly and looked at her. She began jogging towards her.

_Oh. Here she comes…_ She thought. Cue the sudden panic. _Wait, what am I going to say to her...?!_

**LUCKY STAR**

"So, how long were you watching me practice" Misao asked teasingly

"I-I wasn't here that long" Kagami said. A total lie as she had been there for at least 80% of the practice

"Well, anyway, why are you here? Don't you normally go to the library after school?" Misao asked

"I don't _normally_ go there"

"Actually, this entire week, you have" Misao stated. "I thought that's where you'd be going everyday now"

Kagami thought about it and realized it was true. She had been avoiding Konata and Tsukasa after class since Monday. Ever since Wednesday, she's also been avoiding during lunch.

"So about earlier" Misao began, her tone serious. "You know how I made you mad by talking about Konata and Tsukasa? I'm really sorry."

"No, Misao. It's fine. I should be the one sorry… I made you cry"

"Cry?" Misao laughed nervously "Who said I cried?"

"… Ayano did"

"Damn her" Misao cursed under her breath. "Okay, yeah. I cried. It's no big deal"

"Yes it is. I didn't mean to hurt you like that" Kagami insisted

"Well, neither did I mean to make you mad." Misao countered

"I wasn't mad" Kagami denied

"Then why did you yell at me?" Misao retorted

"I was… alright I was mad…" Kagami relented

"Well, I'm sorry for that" Misao apologized.

"And I'm sorry for getting mad and making you cry" Kagami apologized as well

"Can you please stop mentioning that?" Misao said, wincing at the word 'cry'

"Stop mentioning what?" Kagami asked

"That I cried"

"Oh you cried?" Kagami teased

"Damn it Hiragii… well, at least we're not apologizing to each other anymore. It was getting confusing"

"… You found that confusing" Kagami said aloud, as if hearing the words from someone else would help Misao see the absurdity of what she just said. "It was a back and forth of us saying 'I'm sorry. Not I'm sorry too'. How is that confusing"

"… what?"

Kagami sighed. "I give up" _Well that was surprisingly easy… I guess I WAS overthinking things…_

"Well, that was surprisingly easy. I thought you'd still be mad at me" Misao joked

"Well… I was mad a while ago, but now…"

"Like I said, don't sweat it." Misao reassured. "The captain said I could go home now. I'm feeling pretty hungry so I'm gonna go someplace to eat first. Wanna come with?" She asked

"Well, I don't-"The faint sound of a dying animal escaped from the depths of Kagami's stomach. _I just realized… I never finished lunch…_ "I guess I will…"

"Great! Let me get changed first" Kagami watched as Misao sprinted for the locker room to change back into her school uniform.

**LUCKY STAR**

"… Yeah I'm gonna be eating out with a friend… don't worry, I'll be okay… right. Thanks dad. See you when I get home" Kagami flipped her phone closed. "Okay, so where are we going?"

The two were walking along a bridge that led to the shopping district.

"Well, we're going out to eat." Misao said "Might as well go someplace with a lot of places to eat at"

"You have no idea where we're going, do you?" Kagami asked dryly, making it sound more like a statement than a question

"We'll figure it out when we get there" Misao assured her. "Besides, I still need to burn off some energy"

"You were running for nearly an hour! How can you still have energy to burn off? Is your blood made of sugar or something?" Kagami questioned her absurdly high endurance.

"Hahaha. That would be stupid. Blood would probably taste awful with sugar"

"You totally took what I said the wrong way"

"Really? I did? Ah, whatever" Misao brushed her off. "So we're her now. What do you want to eat?"

They had arrived at the shopping district and sure enough, there were a number of restaurants and diners with their doors open for them.

"I'm in the mood for seafood. What about you?" Misao asked

"Eh… Seafood's fine"

"Okay, I know this great little shop that has the best steamed fish" Misao said enthusiastically as she dragged Kagami to the said eatery.

Once there, the two settled at a booth close to the counter but not too far from the entrance. As Misao stated that they had 'the best steamed fish' they both ordered that. And then they waited

"So about earlier" Kagami began

"Like I said, it's fine. Stop thinking about it" Misao said "I don't like it when you're upset, Hiragii"

Kagami wasn't sure how to respond. For one, she was surprised at Misao's concern for her emotional state. For another, Misao was misinterpreting what she wanted to say before she even said it. Why she responded like that, Kagami wasn't sure. Maybe she wasn't thinking before talking again or maybe it was something else, but either way Kagami continued regardless of what she said

"Earlier you said you loved me…" Kagami stated.

Misao seemed to lag, as if there was too much information in that one statement for her to process at once.

"Y-yeah… I did" Misao confirmed with a nervous smile. "Glad you… remembered…"

"… Yeah…" Kagami said. _Where was I going with this?_

"Y-yeah" Misao agreed awkwardly. She began cursing the uncomfortable atmosphere but abruptly stopped when she got an idea. "W-well, earlier, it wasn't much a confession as it was me having those… those… me saying something I didn't mean to."

"I think the expression you're thinking of is 'A slip of the tongue'" Kagami said helpfully

"Yeah, one of those" Misao confirmed "So I want to make it a proper confession"

"Uh…" Kagami stared at her, an internal panic brewing inside her

"Kagami Hiragii, I'm in love with you" Misao said in a manner so blunt, it could knock someone out with the force. No pause for effect, not shy looking away. She looked at Kagami in the eyes and said it.

Despite already knowing it – hell, despite actually talking about it with Misao literally seconds ago, Kagami became flustered when Misao said her name, and even more so when she said those five words.

With just seven words – a phrase eleven syllables long – Misao sent Kagami into a hot faced daze.

"… Don't tell me…" Misao snapped her fingers in front of Kagami's face. No response. "… Aw jeez…"

Kagami was broken from her stupor by her cheeks being pinched. "Hey! Ow ow! Get off!"

"Sorry, you were making that weird face you have when overthinking things."

"… Er… yeah…"

"Well, I've said my part. What will YOU say?" Misao asked

"What?"

"Is my love gonna stay one-sided or what?"

"Oh… I'm sorry Misao. I can't really return you're feelings" Kagami apologized

"Yeah, figures…" Misao said, totally unsurprised. Coincidentally, Kagami was the one surprised at Misao's reaction. "You're in love with the chibi, right?"

Kagami, after she recovered from the shock of Misao knowing, said: "Don't call her… Yeah, I'm in love with Konata." Kagami began angry, but stopped midway and just agreed.

"Before you ask, yeah, you're really obvious."

"What? Really?" Kagami asked in embarrassment "Miyuki said it wasn't noticeable…"

"Yeah, it's noticeable. It's just that no one really thought to look" Misao explained. "Hell, even I was obvious with you and you only realized it when I told you"

"… Wow, I must really bad at love" Kagami said dejectedly.

"Nah. I think it's because you're not used to having crushes since most people run away from you" Misao once again hit Kagami so bluntly that she had the metaphorical wind knocked out of her

"You could at least TRY to pull your punches." Kagami said

"What do you mean?" Misao asked

_She doesn't even know how hard that statement hit me… Somehow that's expected though…_

"Anyway, you're not bad at love. You're just not used to it." Misao said.

"Aw man. If I really WAS that obvious, Konata must already know."

"Eh… I don't know." Misao scratched her head "I think she does but we can never know for sure. I've seen that chibi tease everyone at one point. I think you're her favorite since your reactions are so cute"

"My reactions… Cute?" Kagami seemed to be skeptical about that particular detail.

"Yeah. Like, you're _already_ cute but when you're flustered, you get ten times cuter."

As if on cue, Kagami got flustered.

"See!" Misao shook from a weird pleasure she couldn't explain. "Oh god that was so cute, I could just scream"

With a blush that was gaining intensity at an alarming rate, Kagami began stammering. "I-I-I'm not that cute! St-stop it!"

"Don't deny it Kagami." Misao gave a red faced tease "You'll only look cuter when you deny it"

"Misao!" Kagami scolded with her face filled red blood and her fist raised in preparation for a punch

"Okay – Okay! I'll stop!" Misao relented "Just give me a minute to get over it"

"Good…" Kagami lowered her fist. "Sixty seconds…"

Due to their… engaging… interaction with each other, they seemed not to notice the food was already at their table, getting cold.

**LUCKY STAR**

The walk to the train station was quiet. The night was well under way and the pedestrians walking the streets looked to be people wanting to get home. Two said pedestrians were crossing a bridge.

"Hey, Misao…" Kagami began

"Yeah, Hirgii?"

"… I'm sorry I can't return your feelings. I'm sure I'd return them if I wasn't already… well… Konata"

"Nah, don't worry about it. You can't help what you feel." Misao said to put Kagami at ease. "Although what you just said… Would you say yes if I asked you out?"

"Ah…" Kagami felt a sense of déjà vu. "Yes, I guess. I mean… Why not, right?"

"Okay then. Please go out with me"

Kagami stopped in her tracks. "How do you do that!?" Kagami asked in frustration

Misao stopped as well "How do I do what?"

"How can you be so blunt about this stuff?"

"Well… I don't know. I just say what feels natural" Misao said cryptically, explaining practically nothing. This was due to the fact that Misao didn't know why herself. "I don't really think about it"

"… Oh" _I still don't get it but clearly she's not gonna be able to explain anything…_

"So will you say yes?" Misao asked again

"… Well…" Kagami began reluctantly

"Aww. C'mon, Hiragii" Misao looked at her with puppy dog eyes, her fang greatly adding to the effect.

"… Er…" Try as she might, she couldn't say no to her face… "Sure. I'll go out with you Misao"

"Really!?" Misao's face slowly grew into a smile. The smile slowly grew in size. Her enthusiasm built up inside her like air in a balloon. It kept going until she exploded "YES! FREAKING YES!"

Kagami couldn't help but smile at Misao's reaction. _She's ecstatic_, Kagami thought happily.

Misao was a giddy, fist pumping mess that was jumping for joy. "YES YES YES! OH MY GOD KAGAMI, I LOVE YOU!" Misao took hold of Kagami's face and kissed her

Kagami felt a number of emotions: Amusement from Misao's behavior; surprise at suddenly being pulled into a kiss; embarrassment from the fact that it was done in public; relief at the fact that there weren't that many people to see the said act; and a weird pleasure from the unexpected lip to lip contact with Misao.

When Misao pulled away, Kagami was in a daze. Not because she was thinking, but because she wasn't. She was a blank. All she could say was "… Wow."

When Kagami returned to her senses, she punched Misao

"OW! What was that for!?"

"Next time, tell me before you do something like that! That was my first kiss!"

Misao grinned at her like an idiot. "You're not complaining are you? Are you upset that I took your first time?"

"… No. Just… just give me a warning before you kiss me or anything." Kagami explained with a blush

"Okay. I'm gonna kiss you again" Misao moved in for the metaphorical kill

Kagami flicked her forehead, causing her to recoil

"Hey!"

"Not today. You already stole one kiss from me today. You're not gonna get another" Kagami said stubbornly as she continued walking to the station

"Heh. Okay then, Hiragii" Misao said with a grin. "I guess that's all for today" She began following behind her

"Kagami"

"What?" Misao asked what Kagami said

"Call me Kagami" She said while still walking towards the station, not turning back, probably to hide the intense blush she had

Misao's confused look returned to that of a cheerful one. "Alright. Kagami"

Misao didn't see it, but Kagami smiled to herself.

_'Someone who accepts me for who I am'… that's what you said, right Konata? You were that person for me Konata. That's what I thought you meant when you said 'That someone might be closer than you think'. But now, I somehow get the feeling you meant Misao when you told me that. I didn't realize it until now. Did you know? Did you plan this?_ The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced

Kagami stifled a laugh. _Amazing…_ _Konata, you owe me an explanation, and I better get one when we next meet._

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hey, Ayano.]

[No, this is her older sister, Akane. What do you want, Kusakabe?]

[Oh. Sorry. Is Ayano there?]

[Right. I'll get her.]

[Thank you.]

[Misa-chan?]

[Hey, Ayano. Guess what happened today.]

[From the sound of you, it must be good]

[I'm not officially Kagami Hiragii's girlfriend!]

[Wow. And to think, you had one of your biggest fights a few hours ago]

[I know, right!? Even I'm having a hard time believing it. But I'm in a relationship with Kagami now. Whoohoo!]

[That's glad to hear… Are you sure you're not being too loud? Your grandparents might get mad]

[Nah. They're asleep. Trust me, when they sleep, it's like they're dead. They won't wake up for anything]

[Have your parents returned from their business trip yet?]

[Nada]

[How about your brother. Is he still awake?]

[Nope, out cold.]

[Well tell him I said hello]

[I still don't know what you see in him]

[Oh shush now. I don't quite see what you find so appealing about Kagami, either.]

[Really?]

[… Er… nevermind… Is there anything else you want to tell me?]

[Hmm… not really… Good night I guess?]

[Good night Misa-chan]

[Good night to you too, Ayano]

**LUCKY STAR **

**Who here can tell which parts were written in the middle of the night? Here's a hint: I write better when I'm sleepy. Like, the-only-thing-keeping-me-awake-is-caffeine sleepy**

**Ah, angst. I never liked writing you. You were always so stupid that I get angry just thinking about you.  
Badly used apostrophe metaphor aside, I just can't get over how stupid characters are in angst. Maybe it's because I never went through that "rebellious phase" but I swear, I have tried to understand it and failed nearly every time. That single section of melodrama was the sole reason why this took nearly a week to write. Do you have any idea how hard it is for someone with no prior experience with something to write about it? Unless I start pulling the things I write out of my ass, I won't have much to give you until I've done my research. In this case, my research was watching "serious" shounen anime and listening to Linkin Park, over and over, song after song. I thank my lucky stars that I have a high tolerance for stupidity of the characters on screen and that Linkin Park's music is more or less enjoyable for me.**

**Anyway, I tried to put some fluff in the later part. It feels out of place, but that's the reason this chapter was named "for every minus, there's a plus". As for the specifics, most (all) of the fluff was actually written _before_ the angst was finished.**

**The next chapter will be out soon… probably. Why are you giving me that look? I'm not consistent with my writing, okay!? I might make 5k words worth of content every day for a few days, but I might also fail to write a single thing for several months. But I'm still a good writer, though (hahaha, no I'm not)**

**On another note, I'm working on the cover for this fic. Unfortunately, I don't have a drawing tablet or access to a camera or scanner at the moment, so I'm gonna have to work with a mouse. Which means the drawing will be shittier than ever! Ain't that swell?**


	4. For every plus, there is a minus

**Chapter 4!**

**Guest #1  
Is there a pairing shown in the title? Is there any indication that any particular pairing would happen? Is it any surprise I decided to pair someone with my favorite character? Hahaha I'm a biased prick.**

**So here's chapter 4. For every plus, there's a minus. This is the partner of the previous chapter and it focuses on our two couples' side of the story of that day. Enjoy.  
Warning: The later part of this chapter will contain OCs that will probably not show up again in any other chapter**

**LUCKY STAR**

It was a beautiful Friday morning to wake up to. As such, Yutaka was slow to rouse from her sleep but when she did, she awoke rested and content.

Konata was another case. Due to the fact that not only would their vacation start when school ends that day, she also had a date with Tsukasa. A double-date in fact, for they would be joined by Yutaka and Minami. Despite the front of an unfazed otaku she put up, underneath it, she was a bag of nerves – stressed to the point of sleep impediment.

Yet she still woke up unusually early, albeit still not having woken up completely.

"Onee-chan, are you okay?" Yutaka asked, worried

"Yeah, just a little tired" Konata said. "I'm sure some breakfast should help"

Konata and Yutaka went downstairs to have breakfast

"Hey Onee-chan, we're going to be having a double date today right?" Yutaka asked as she closed the lid of the rice cooker and turned it on

"Y-yeah, we are." Konata began dicing a tomato.

"Where are we going?" Yutaka got two eggs and cracked them into a bowl

"Well, I thought we'd go to a café first or something" Konata took the bowl and put the tomatoes into it. After which, she began mixing it with a fork.

"Which café will we be going to?" Yutaka tiptoed in front of the too-high-up cupboard to get some spices. "Oh, there's this new one across the street from store that sells the cute stationary"

"There? Wow, I could have sworn the store across it was an antique store" Konata held onto Yutaka by the hips and lifted her so she could reach the cupboard

"It replaced the antique store a few days ago" Yutaka grabbed the spices and gestured to be lowered back down. She handed the spices to Konata

"Really? Wow. It's like how some buildings just show up in anime for one episode even though it wasn't even there in the previous one" Konata noted as she continued mixing the eggs, now with spices

"After that, what will we do?" Yutaka asked. She got a frying pan and struggled to get it onto the stove, finding it surprisingly heavy.

"I guess we go to the arcade? I'm not really sure" Konata poured the eggs into the pan.

After a few more minutes of cooking and chitchat, Konata and Yutaka were partaking in a meal consisting of rice, an egg omelet, and half a carton of orange juice.

"Good morning Konata…" Sojiro walked into the kitchen, looking more than a little worse for wear.

"Jeez dad, you look like a zombie. I get the feeling you got even less sleep than I did" Konata said with more than a little concern

"I was writing all night. I need to get another story out or we won't be able to pay for the bills next month" Sojiro said

"If we're that short on money, I could always hold back on the anime merchandise and let you save up some more" Konata suggested

"That's awfully considerate of you, thank you. But I'd feel better knowing that you're not burdened by your old man's financial problems"

"Well… whatever you say, dad. C'mon and eat. The food's getting cold"

And thus they ate breakfast together for the first time in a long time; mostly because they all woke up earlier than the time they normally woke up.

**LUCKY STAR**

As impossible as it might have seemed, Tsukasa had awoken early. For whatever reason, she was abruptly brought out of a wonderful dream by the force of gravity and her impact to the floor. Simply put, she fell out of her bed. It's not the first time it has happened, but it was one of the few times she actually woke up from it. That's right; there were times where she remained asleep after she fell from her bed.

Regardless of past events involving gravity and moving around in her sleep, she was awake now. It was tempting for her to just get back on the bed and go to sleep once more, but she resisted the urge to do so for a reason she did not quite understand. She decided to get ready for school. Maybe cook some breakfast while she was at it. Heck, it was so early she decided to cook her lunch as well.

With that said, it was exactly what she did. She even woke Kagami up, although she decided to stay in her room for a while. Tsukasa assumed it was to think as she had been locking herself in her room for practically the entire week.

As Kagami had taken a rather long time to ponder her thoughts, Tsukasa was left an equally long amount of time to ponder thoughts her own as she played with her food, waiting for her sister to come down.

_My date with Kona-chan today became a double date with Yu-chan and Minami. I wonder what we're going to do. All of our dates have been just us doing what we normally do. Is this REALLY how relationships turn out?_ Tsukasa wondered. _Well, even though Kona-chan has as much real life experience as I do, she plays those dating sims a lot so she must have SOME sort of idea of what it is to date someone._

She began nibbling on a grain of rice. _I'm sort of worried about Onee-chan, though. She seemed out of it since Monday._ Tsukasa picked at another grain of rice._ Maybe I should ask Miyuki about this? She and Kagami have been talking to each other a lot lately. Maybe she's thinking of going out with Miyuki since she said she wanted to know what it's like to date someone too… I don't know. This is all very confusing…_

"Hey Tsukasa, don't you know it's not good to play with your food" Kagami said, breaking Tsukasa from her stupor

"Well, I made it. I have a right to do what I want with it" Tsukasa retorted, surprising both Kagami and herself.

"You're full of surprises today, aren't you? First you wake up early, now you're talking back?" Kagami teased. "Konata has a bigger influence on you than I thought" Kagami said with trace amounts of sadness.

"Sis, I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that" Tsukasa apologized deeply.

"Don't worry about it. It's about time you started fighting back" Kagami reassured her as she began to eat "Although you'll have to figure out when it's appropriate. We can't have you getting into fights or pissing off teachers"

"I don't know. It didn't feel right when I talked back. I don't like it."

"Hey. No one's forcing you" Kagami couldn't help but smile at her sister's reasoning. "C'mon, let's eat. I'm starving"

And so began the Friday morning of the Hiragii Twins

**LUCKY STAR**

The Takara and Iwasaki families were having a group breakfast in the Iwasaki garden.

"And so in the end, the telemarketer had to leave because her boss scolded her. We were talking for an hour" Yukari finished her story.

"You always seem to end up talking to them for hours" Honoka noted "If you're feeling lonely, you could always visit. I may be busy with work, but I'd have no problem with company"

"Er… I don't think I'd be comfortable…" Yukari said "You know… because… you'd be working and I'd be doing nothing…"

"If you say so. Either way, you plan to do nothing all day." Honoka teased. "and speaking of plans. Minami, you have something to do today right? A little date with your girlfriend"

Minami blushed "… yes…"

"Why that's… wonderful" Yukari said in an awfully forced way

"You said you'd be spending it with two other people right? What is it kids call it these day? Double dates?"

Minami nodded, totally uncomfortable with how casual her mother was being while talking about her lovelife.

"Who were you going with again? I remember something about them being Yutaka's cousin. You said they were Miyuki's friends"

Honoka and Yukari looked a Miyuki, who was a bit surprised at the unexpected gazes.

"Er… Yes. Konata Izumi and Tsukasa Hiragii"

"Both girls as well?" Yukari asked

"Why… yes…"

Yukari just sighed. "Well, I hope everything goes great for all of you" She said with trace amounts of bitterness – not enough for the two daughters to outright notice, but just enough for them to be able sense something was different.

"Oh, don't be like that Yukari" Honoka scolded playfully "It a good thing they're happy now"

Miyuki and Minami had no idea what they were talking about.

Miyuki shot Minami a look. She tilted her head towards their parents and raised an eyebrow, as if asking what the two were going on about

Minami looked at their mothers and shrugged, not knowing what to make of it either.

Miyuki and Minami returned to eating in silence as their two mothers prattled on.

**LUCKY STAR**

Konata and Tsukasa were walking the first year hallways during lunch.

"This really takes me back" Tsukasa said

"Yeah" Konata agreed "It's almost hard to believe that it's been two years since we were in these classrooms."

"Wow… I sort of feel sad now" Tsukasa said wistfully "It's been so long since we've been here. And next year, I don't think we'll even be able to come back since we're gonna be going to college"

"Yeah…" Konata said in melancholic agreement. "But hey. Cheer up. You know what they say. 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mystery, and today's a treasure – that's why it's called present'"

Tsukasa seemed to cheer up a bit.

"And treasure it I will. Any moment with Kagami, Miyuki, and most of all, you, are presents to be grateful for" Konata said "And we're gonna be having one of those moments later today." She reminded Tsukasa

"Oh right…" Tsukasa remembered in surprise.

"You little cutie, you forgot didn't you?" Konata teased

"I… well… I guess I was thinking too much?" Tsukasa said with not much certainty

"Hmmm, I guess it runs in the family" Konata noted "Although you're a more mild case than Kagami"

"Kagami? What about her?" Tsukasa asked with concern "What runs in the family?"

"Thinking too much" Konata said "You're like this white haired meganekko in this one anime that sort of starts imagining weird things when her glasses come off. What was her name? Chihiro? Chitose?"

"Eh?"

"The point is, when left with your own thoughts, your imagination goes wild."

Tsukasa thought for a while "… Yeah. I guess you're right…"

"In Kagami's case, I guess her imagination makes things seem worse than they really are" Konata explained. "I sometimes worry about her"

Tsukasa could only agree. Thinking about it, if Kagami really WAS making things bad in her head, she'd be very concerned for her sister.

"Looks like we're here… hey, watch this" Konata said with her all too famous cat smile

"Hey there" Konata said to a boy not quite two inches taller than her

"Hey?" The boy said curiously, obviously not knowing who the girl with cobalt hair was.

"Could you call Kobayakawa and Iwasaki here?" Konata said politely. Then she looked at the boy coldly and said with a harsh tone: "I'm a senior"

"… Oh" It took a moment for the boy to realize what she just said "OH. Yes! I'll get them right away!"

Konata smiled as the boy ran back into the classroom. Tsukasa thought it was a little mean, but she too found it funny

"Onee-chan, Tsukasa-chan!" Yutaka said cheerfully as she ran up to them like a puppy seeing its owner

Minami followed closely, reaching the two shortly after Yutaka. She nodded at them in greeting.

"So guys, you want to eat with us at the roof?" Konata asked "I've always wanted to eat there."

"Isn't the roof off limits?" Yutaka asked

"Yeah, but that doesn't stop anime protagonists"

"… Eh?"

Minami looked at Konata sternly or at least that what Konata thought she was doing. Her face didn't really change. "We're not in anime… besides, I'm not sure it's safe" Minami added, making a short glance at Yutaka

"Don't worry, we'll be fine" Konata got behind Yutaka and began walking forward, pushing her by the shoulders

"… She seems very energetic today" Minami noted as Yutaka and Konata moved out of view around the corner.

"Nah, she's actually being pretty mellow" Tsukasa said as she happily followed them.

Minami looked at Tsukasa and wondered how she could tell. _Then again, Yutaka is the only one who really understands me. Maybe that's the case with them._ She nodded and followed as well

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami had opted not to visit today, and Konata and Tsukasa were with Yutaka and Minami discussing what they'd be doing for their double date that afternoon, which meant Miyuki was alone.

She sat at her table, eating her lunch glumly.

"Hey… you're looking down. Is everything alright?" Miyuki looked up to see Minoru sitting on the chair in front of her table.

"Erm… I'm fine. I'm just a little lonely" Miyuki said

"I can keep you company if you want." Minoru said helpfully

"Thank you"

"So… uh… Yeah… Great weather we're having today…" Minoru shifted in his seat.

"… Yes. Quite…" _Oh dear. I've forgotten how awkward he is with me… Looks like I'll have to be the one to begin the conversation_

"Your radio show is very nice" Miyuki started

"… Oh you seriously watched it?"

Miyuki smiled "I've been watching for three days now"

"Wow. That was unexpected." Minoru said with a mildly embarrassed expression.

"You and Kogami-san have a very nice dynamic going for you." Miyuki said

"Heh. It's one of the reasons why I was the one they ended up keeping as Miss Akira's assistant."

"So no one else can keep up with Akira?" Miyuki asked

"More like no one wants to" Minoru said with a chuckle. "For whatever reason, those before me only lasted a month or something. If Miss Akira tried to make it hard for me, I'd probably one of those one-monthers too"

"She seems fond of you."

"Well, the felling's mutual" He said with a smile

"… if I may… Are you and Kogami-san…" Miyuki began

"No. We're not dating." Minoru said. "I seem to get asked that a lot"

"Oh… I'm sorry"

"Ah, don't worry. I'm used to it. Besides, it isn't like it's something to get offended about"

"Ah. Alright then" Miyuki said

There was a long pause that seemed to rile Minoru a bit.

_Oh dear. We've run out of things to talk about_… Miyuki thought. _And from the way he seems to be shifting in his seat, he may be panicking inside. I need to think of another topic…_

"H-hey Takara-san, would you like to go to the radio station with me today?" Minoru asked._ Alright, "today" wasn't what I planned to say, but I'm pretty sure it's fine._

"Oh, are you sure? I'd hate to be a bother"

_This doesn't seem to be a situation where I can just change my mind all of a sudden…_ "Sure. Besides, I'd like for you to meet Miss Akira"

"Well, thank you. I'm free today so this is a wonderful chance"

"Err… you're welcome" _No way to turn back now_

"You think you know everything about me!" They heard from the hall

"That sounded like Kagami" Miyuki said with concern

"I did it because I'm in love with you!" said another voice

"That other one was Misao" Minoru said tensely

"What do you think happened?" Miyuki asked in mild distress

"Well, obviously they got in a fight." Minoru said "What do you think it was about?"

"I don't know…" _I don't like this…_

**LUCKY STAR**

The three sat near the corner of the fence of the roof – Konata and Tsukasa were quite close to each other while Minami sat opposite the two of them with Yutaka on her lap apparently because the floor was too hot for her to sit on. No one questioned the seating arrangements

"Wow, Tsukasa-chan. You cooked this?" When Tsukasa took out the lunch boxes, Yutaka was in awe of the food she prepared for herself and Konata.

It was a veritable work of art, both in looks and taste, as confirmed by Konata.

"It tastes amazing! I love it!" Konata said as she savoured each bite

"Onee-chan, you're so lucky" Yutaka said, after which, she began praising Tsukasa. "You must be a really put a lot of effort into it"

"Ah, it's nothing. I just woke up this morning so I thought 'why not'" Tsukasa said with a blush

"Oh, don't be that way." Konata said in a teasing way "You were totally thinking of me when you made this. I can taste the love"

This comment prompted Tsukasa to blush even harder, blood welling up into her cheeks

"Aww…" Konata spasmed from Tsukasa's reaction. "You are the cutest thing I've ever seen! I could just squeeze you senseless!"

And squeeze she did, as Konata pulled Tsukasa into a tight hug.

The two spectators couldn't help but smile at their interaction.

Yutaka felt a slight tense in Minami's arms around her. She was earlier holding Yutaka's waist from behind to keep her from falling off her lap, but the embrace had loosened a bit.

Yutaka glanced back at Minami before looking back at the arms wrapped around her. She held Minami's hands and pulled, tightening the embrace

Minami's eyes widened slightly, with cheeks turning half a shade redder. After she got over her initial surprise, Minami tightened her hold on Yutaka.

Yutaka looked down and smiled, while Minami closed her eyes.

Unbeknownst to the two first years, their little silent interaction did not go unnoticed. The two jumped in their seat with shock as Konata and Tsukasa gushed over the heart-warming scene they just witnessed

"That was beautiful!" Tsukasa said, teary eyed

"I take it back. THAT was the cutest thing I ever seen!" Konata said, causing her two underclassmen to blush.

Several more lovey-dovey scenes followed as the four ate lunch and discussed where they'd be going for their double date later that day.

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki and Minoru learned that Kagami and Misao had gotten into a fight. Apparently Kagami had been in a bad mood when Misao began talking to her. In the end, Kagami stormed out the room, leaving Misao to cry alone. Or at least as alone as a classroom full of students could be.

Ayano had decided to talk to Kagami and asked Minoru to comfort Misao. Miyuki joined to help but wasn't much use in the end. Thankfully the issue was resolved.

"That was an interesting way of comforting someone" Miyuki commented

"Well, I though Misao needed to be told what she'd done. I get the feeling she didn't really understand it herself." Minoru said. "Besides, I can't exactly give her a hug and tell her everything's gonna be alright. For one, Misao probably wouldn't believe me; for another, people might think things"

"I see."

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

"Shall we return to class?" Miyuki asked

"It's not like we have a choice" Minoru joked as they walked back to their room.

"Yo! Where were _you_ this lunch?" Konata teased Miyuki "Having a little lunch date with Sebastian here?"

The two sweat-dropped

"Er… No… We sort of had to help a friend" Miyuki explained.

Minoru began inching away, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, as if to say _"You can handle this"_

"Really?" Tsukasa asked curiously "Who was it"

"It was Misao-san. She had an argument with Kagami-san"

Miyuki pulled Minoru back by his shirt in the most subtle way she could, as if to reply with _"No, YOU handle this. You know Misao better"_

"Oh! What happened?" Tsukasa asked with concern

"I don't really understand the details. Maybe you could help me with that Shiraishi-san?"

Minoru tugged his shirt back, hoping nobody saw what he did. "Ah… well…" She glanced at Miyuki with a masterfully veiled pleading look. _Why do I have to talk to them? They're YOUR friends._ "They sort of got into an argument and… well…"

Konata walked up to Minoru and took hold of his shirt

Konata pulled Minoru close and whispered "Has Misakichi told her yet?"

"W-what?"

"Kusakabe. Has that tomboy confessed to Kagami yet?" Konata asked again

"Y-you knew?"

"Answer the question"

"Yes. She has"

Konata gave a sigh of mixed sadness and relief. "… Okay." She let go of Minoru and turned to Tsukasa

"Tsukasa, you don't need to worry about those two. They're doing just fine" Konata reassured her with a smile

Tsukasa seemed confused. "Er… I don't know but… I trust you Konata"

Miyuki looked at Tsukasa and Konata then smiled. _To the outside observer, nothing has changed, but it seems to me that Tsukasa is developing feelings for Konata._

Minoru, sensing that it was now or never if he wanted to leave, quickly walked away from the three.

"So…" Konata looked at Miyuki mischievously "How was your time alone with Sebastian?"

Once again, Miyuki sweat-dropped "That isn't his name…" She said with a sigh

Tsukasa perked up a bit "Oh right. You said last Tuesday that he's… He's called Shiraishi, right?"

"Oh? I could have sworn he was Sebastian" Konata mused "I still say Sebastian's a better name"

"Well, I enjoyed his company, if that's what you were asking" Miyuki replied. "It's actually very refreshing to talk to him. I should probably try to make more friends but it seems very difficult."

"You've got this reserved air about you." Konata noted "I think people are a bit intimidated by it." Her gaze went down a few inches "I probably doesn't help that you already have two big friends with you already"

"Eh?" Miyuki followed Konata's gaze and found that it fell upon her remarkably well developed chest. Miyuki blushed a bit. "Oh my… I never really thought of it like that…"

"Don't worry, Yuki-chan. Not everyone's intimidated by you. I mean, look at us?" Tsukasa reasoned

"And besides, I don't think anyone would be intimidated by Miyuki if they actually got to know her"

"Well, I do try to be very friendly" Miyuki said "Sometimes our classmates ask me for help with homework and I do my best to assist them"

"See? I think people just think you're too perfect so they think you wouldn't want a friend like them" Konata explained a reasoning that couldn't be farther from the truth. "Come to think of it, a lot of characters in anime are like that – So seemingly perfect that they don't have many friends…" She mused. "Miyuki, you'd do great in your own anime"

Upon reaching that tangent, the teacher of the period after lunch finally entered the classroom and the students got into their seats.

"Alright, sit down" Nanako Kuroi said, looking like she had only recently woken up from a nap "Sorry I'm late. Had to do some things"

"Yeah, probably things like extend her power nap" Konata snickered, and then recoiled when a piece of chalk hit her forehead

"Izumi!" Ms. Kuroi said, juggling a few more pieces of chalk in her right hand. She looked at her with a smug grin, although still looking newly-awoken. "Care to say that again?"

**LUCKY STAR**

Minami and Yutaka were once again walking to the nurse's office for her medicine. Unlike last Tuesday, Yutaka wasn't following behind Minami, but they were walking beside each other, hand in hand

"I'm really excited about later today" And it showed as Yutaka beamed at Minami

"I'm excited too" Minami said with a slight tilt of her head.

They got to the nurse's office and proceeded to do what they've been doing for nearly half a year now. They greeted Nurse Amahara, Yutaka drank her medicine, and Minami conducted a basic check on her. Nothing strayed from routine until Ayano Minegeshi entered with an unconscious Kagami.

"Yutaka, I think you better go back to the class room" Minami said

"Okay then, Minami-chan" Yutaka got off the bed and move for the door. "I hope Kagami-sempai will be okay"

Ayano had laid Kagami onto the bed as gently as she could

Nurse Amahara went up to her and asked "What happened? Did she get possessed?"

"Er… No?" Ayano gave her reluctant answer to the weird follow-up question

"Well, that's a shame." She said glumly, but then caught herself "Not that getting possessed is a good thing, it's just… yeah… uh…"

"I sort of… how you say… broke her with my words?" Ayano explained

"You verbally harassed her?" Nurse Amahara looked at her gravely

"N-no!" Ayano denied. "I… well… She and my friend were fighting and she sort of ended up making her cry. I told her how she was crying and how she caused it. She sort of just stared into space for a while before passing out"

Minami didn't quite understand the story due to the constant use of pronouns, but she got the gist of things. Minami looked at Ayano curiously, or at least as curiously as a blank expression could look.

"Hmm… This hasn't been the first time this has happened." The nurse noted "She actually fainted from a similar reason last Monday"

"Really?" Ayano was surprised "Well… I hope she wakes up. I'm going back to class"

"Minami, you can go back to class too. I can handle this"

Minami nodded and followed Ayano out the door

"… Who fought with Kagami-sempai?" Minami asked Ayano

"… I'm sorry… I didn't know you were friends with Kagami-san"

Minami tilted her head a bit

"… Right… She fought with Misao Kusakabe"

Minami's eye seemed to widen by a fraction

"You know her?"

She nodded

"Well… They were talking about… personal stuff and…"

Minami quieted her by raising her finger. She nodded once and walked away

Ayano just stood there dumbfounded. _What just happened?_

**LUCKY STAR**

Patricia Martin, also known as Patty, was with Hiyori Tamura, and they were in the class room, reading what looks to be one of Hiyori's notebooks. When Yutaka saw this, she ran up to them.

"Hey guys! What are you reading?"

Hiyori jumped and began putting her notebooks in her bag with panicked precision. "Nothing! W-w-we were reading nothing"

"We were reading a few pages of the manga she was making" Patty said

"Really? Can I see?"

"NO! N-n-no, you can't see"

"Aww, why not?"

"W-w-well it's because… it's not finished. Yeah. That's the reason"

"Can I see it when you're done?"

"Ah…" Hiyori looked at Patty desperately. _Help me out here_

Patty glanced at Hiyori and smiled mischievously. "You can't look at it because it's erotic and we don't want you seeing stuff like that" She stated bluntly

Yutaka's face exploded red as blood rushed in. Hiyori's did the opposite as blood began draining from her face.

"Oh… I… d-didn't know you drew stuff like that…" Yutaka said with embarrassment

"… Not… normally… I don't normally draw… stuff like that…" Hiyori said hopelessly

"It's okay. It's not like there's anything wrong" Yutaka said, having recovered surprisingly quickly

Minami entered the classroom

"Hiya, Minami-chan!" Patty said

Minami nodded in greeting

"Hey, Minami, did you know Hiyori drew erotic things?" Yutaka said with not one ounce of irony.

It was said in such a-matter-of-factly that Minami took a moment to realize what she said "… Oh" Minami's face exploded in a blush not much different from Yutaka's

Once again, Hiyori was mortified – more so than she was earlier. _The girl's a sadist! I don't care how if she realizes it or not, she's a sadist_.

Patty just laughed

**LUCKY STAR**

"So how'd you enjoy your first week as girl friends?" Konata asked as they sat in a booth not far from the entrance of the small café they chose to eat at

"Well, it seems really great since I get to be with Minami-chan all the time" Yutaka said with such a childlike cheerfulness, the hearts of those who heard seemed to melt a bit from the tender warmth

"It feels nice…" Minami added meekly.

"It doesn't really feel like things have changed though." Konata commented "Not that it has to. You two are just about perfect for each other"

The said comment was met with an enthusiastic "Really?" by Yutaka and an extremely flustered look downward by Minami

"What about you, Onee-chan?" Yutaka asked

"Me? Well…" Konata looked at Tsukasa and asked teasingly "How did you enjoy being my girlfriend for a week now?"

"Ah… well" Confusion and embarrassment arose in Tsukasa. "I-I guess I liked it? I really like how you hold my hand now"

"Oh, you mean like this?" Konata put her hand on top of Tsukasa's whose own hand was laid flat on the table. "You like that, don't you?" Konata teased, stroking Tsukasa's hand in a surprisingly seductive manner

Tsukasa blushed. "Uh… Kona-chan?" She looked at Konata then quickly turned her head to look the other way

"… What is it?" Konata asked "Too sexy for you?"

"You're face… you're making a funny face" Tsukasa was obviously trying not to laugh. Keyword: Trying.

As Tsukasa unsuccessfully suppressed a giggle, Konata blushed as well "Hey, stop laughing…"

"I'm… sorry…" Tsukasa managed to squeeze in between her hysteric laughter

Konata pouted a bit. "C'mon, Stop it, Tsukasa."

The two spectators, them being Yutaka and Minami, sat and watched them interact.

"They're really close aren't they?" Yutaka noted

Minami nodded. "And very open to each other…"

"I hope we can be like that someday" Yutaka wished.

Minami smiled and held Yutaka's hand from under the table.

Yutaka smiled as well

The two closed their eyes in contentment. And then the moment was killed.

"As, I said earlier: CUTEST EVER!" Konata said with a bit too much enthusiasm for someone in a quiet little café.

"Oh Kona-chan, pinch me! That was so heart-warming it couldn't be real!" Tsukasa said as she held tightly onto Konata's hand

"I KNOW!" Konata pinched her cheek playfully

Minami and Yutaka sweat-dropped over seeing their upperclassmen sqee over them.

_I guess they're just like that…_ Minami thought as she squeezed Yutaka's hand a lightly

_I guess they are…_ Yutaka squeezed back and smiled

**LUCKY STAR**

"Wow, Minami. Didn't expect you to be THIS good" Konata noted as she shot a zombie approaching them

The four girls were at an arcade and were playing a zombie shooter game – that particular game being one of the few in the arcade that Konata has not played to the point of mastering.

Konata was doing fairly well, having gotten to the third stage having only been hit twice. Minami on the other hand was practically playing with an aimbot, what with her impossibly good accuracy.

Minami was like a demon, mowing down entire hoards with a single shot to each zombie.

"You're both amazing!" Was one of the many cheers Tsukasa and Yutaka yelled as their girlfriends played. Others include "Look out!", "What IS that thing!?", "Eeep!", and "Shoot it! Don't stop shooting!"

Within an hour, they finished the game with only a single credit lost by Konata and three bars of health lost by Minami, beating the high score by several thousand points

**LUCKY STAR**

[LUCKY CHANNEL!]

[Hiya, luckies. I'm Minoru Shiraishi and I will be your navigator today. Miss Akira opted to let me take the lead today, for whatever reason. Thank you Akira! I won't disappoint you!

Anyway, today has been a very eventful day for me. Aside from having the obvious opportunity of navigating today, I was also met with a dash of despair and a helping of hope. Simply put, I had to help out a friend who was having some trouble. I'm sure she's doing fine now though. Hang in there, girl!

Speaking of hope and despair, those of you who have watched or played _Dangan Ronpa_ should be pleased to know that the next song is _Zetsubousei – Hero Chyrouyaku_, the ending theme from _Dangan Ronpa – The Animation_. Brought to you by _Chun-soft_. Enjoy!]

* Zetsubousei – Hero Chryouyaku begins playing *

**LUCKY STAR**

By the time Tsukasa got home, the rest of the Hiragii family, sans Kagami, had already eaten dinner.

"You said you'd be back for dinner" Tadao scolded

"I'm sorry" Tsukasa apologized with a bow

"What did you do to get home half an hour late anyway?" Matsuri asked

"Eh… We sort of got side-tracked…" Tsukasa muttered as she remembered how Konata had dragged the three of them to a book store that had a new manga up for display.

"Well at least you're safe." Miki said "I'm still a bit worried about Kagami, though. She isn't home yet"

"Did she go out with a friend?" Tsukasa asked "I hope she's okay. It's dangerous to be out after dark right?"

"Yes. She called and said she'd be eating out." Tadao said "I'm sure she's fine, dear. Don't worry"

"This is Kagami we're talking about." Matsuri joked "If she gets attacked by perverts, I'd feel sorry for anyone who tries anything funny"

"Yes. If anything, I'd be more worried that Kagami might brutally injure someone" Inori added

"Now, now. It's not nice to talk about your sister like that" Miki said sternly

"I'm home!" The Hiragii family heard Kagami as she entered the house

"Oh wow, didn't expect you to get home before me" Kagami said to Tsukasa

"Well, I'm late enough as it is" Tsukasa said with a hint of shame.

She then blinked, having noticed something "Sis, you seem different from earlier"

"What?"

"Did something good happen while you were out?" Tsukasa asked

"Er…" Kagami blushed a bit "I guess you could say that"

As Inori and Matsuri watched the twins, they both grew suspicious. They looked at each other and nodded, both knowing that one was thinking what the other was thinking

"Hey, Imoutos" Matsuri got their attention. "I think we might need to have a little talk"

"Eh?" was the reaction of Tsukasa.

"And why is that?" was the reaction of Kagami.

"Oh, no need to be so unpleasant. It's just a little conversation sister-to-sister" Inori said as she began pushing Kagami up the stairs

Matsuri followed behind, pushing Tsukasa

**LUCKY STAR**

Minami arrived rather late. By pure coincidence however, she and Miyuki reached home at nearly the exact same time. As such, they were subject to simultaneous scolding by their parents who were once again eating at the Iwasaki Manor

"Date or not, it is no excuses to be late" Minami's father said.

It was one of the few times he was home. I would often be very lively as him being home would also mean Miyuki's father was home as well

"Oh, don't be like that, Shintaro." Miyuki's dad said. "Miyuki, why don't you come eat. It's been a long time since I've had dinner with you guys as a family"

"Yes father" Miyuki said polite and cheerful tone, obviously happy that her father had come back from his business trip

"Well… I guess Tatsuya's right" Shintaro Iwasaki said "C'mon, Minami. Sit down and eat. The food is damn delicious."

Minami nodded and took a seat next to Miyuki

"So I hear you're dating a girl now" Miyuki's dad, Tatsuya Takara commented. "How far have you gone?" He asked with a smile

Minami blushed. "We've… held hands…" She managed to say

"How long have you two been dating? A week, right?" Minami's father asked "You still haven't kissed yet?"

Minami's blush deepened

"Now now, honey. Remember, it took you a year to kiss me" Honoka teased

On the other side of the table were the Takaras, observing the Iwasakis' interaction.

"That blush doesn't seem like it's just embarrassment… shame?" Tatsuya asked Miyuki to which she nodded in confirmation.

"Why would she be ashamed? She's not lying but what could she be hiding that's so shameful?"

"I'm not at liberty to tell you. Maybe mother could tell you?"

Tatsuya looked at Yukari

"Well… she's dating a girl…" Yukari said nervously

Tatsuya looked confused. "I don't see anything wrong with that. He married Honoka and she was once-"

"No, please don't mention that. Not now" Yukari cut him off

Miyuki looked at Honoka Iwasaki with wonder. _That was something I did not know… the implications of it… I'll think about it later_

They continued to eat dinner

**LUCKY STAR**

"Dad, we're home! Sorry we're late" Konata called. No response "Dad?"

Konata checked the living room and then kitchen. He wasn't there.

"Yu-chan, could you bring those manga to my room." Konata said as she began searching the second floor

Konata opened the door to her father's study and found that he was slumped over the desk in a not so graceful slumber.

"Jeez. You're overworking yourself dad" Konata muttered. She got a blanket from a nearby closet and draped it over him.

That was when she noticed a half crumpled piece of paper on his table. Konata's eyes widened when she read it

"Hey Onee-chan. Is uncle Sojiro okay?" Yutaka asked from the hall

"Y-yeah… he's fine. He's just a little tired… He must have had a long day…" Konata crumpled the paper again and threw it towards the trash can at the corner of the room.

Konata sighed as she closed the door and let her father sleep.

**LUCKY STAR**

**So a couple of points to… ah… point out (hahaha puns):**

**-Kagami x Misao is only temporary. Until this story is over, none of these pairings are set in stone. Stop overreacting  
-I enjoy conversations where the characters are doing something, like like the ones with Konata cooking. In the next chapter, we'll have an entire section filled with that (hopefully).  
-Sojiro, in this story is a writer. That's my understanding of the info that the anime told me.  
-I tried to put a bit more into a certain character trait of Konata, being her tendency to relate everything to anime and video games. Hahaha I don't think I'm doing it very well.  
-Headcanon: Minami is exceptionally good at everything that doesn't need social skills. Ergo, godlike skills in a video game she's only just played  
-Lucky Channel is an otaku-centric radio show in this fic. I chose this because it gives me an excuse to put in references to anime music that I like. Again I say: I'm a biased prick. Hahaha  
-Tatsuya and Shintaro are OCs that will probably not make any other appearances in this fic. They will however be mentioned in the future.**

**Next chapter: Next Week! ...Probably…**

**Again, reviews are appreciated. I'd be very happy if you tell me about any grammar and spelling errors you spot – the same with plot holes. Anything to make this fic any less of a pain to read. Hahaha**


	5. There's tension in the Hiragii household

**So here we have Chapter 5, There is tension in the Hiragii house hold.**

**After a time skip of about two weeks, three of our four protagonists have decided to have a sleep over at the Hiragiis' with their respective girlfriends. Despite two weeks passing by, you could say that nearly nothing has changed. You could also say a lot has changed if you interpret it that way.**

**I have no idea where I'm going with this story. I'm just such an **_**amazing**_** writer, aren't I? Hahaha.  
Enjoy?**

**LUCKY STAR**

It was a Friday morning at the Hiragii household.

"*yawn* Good morning" Tsukasa said while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes

"Good morning" Kagami greeted "You've gotten really consistent with your sleep schedule. I'm impressed"

Tsukasa smiled at her "I don't know why, but it feels easier to wake up now."

"So do you remember what will be happening today?" Kagami asked

"… Uh… Mom and Dad are going on a vacation, just the two of them" Tsukasa guessed

"Yes, but what else?"

"Well… Um…" Tsukasa seemed to be racking her brain for an answer that would not come. She eventually gave up. "What will be happening to today again?"

"Wow Tsukasa, you were so excited about it yesterday. Konata and Misao will be coming over for a sleep over."

"Eh?" Tsukasa took a moment to comprehend. The gears in her head began spinning as she began to remember. "Oh no! Is my hair okay? Do I need to take another bath? Do we have enough supplies to feed them?" Tsukasa began panicking

"Tsukasa, relax!" Kagami held her by the shoulders "Everything is going to go smoothly today. I didn't worry all week for something to go wrong now"

_Oh right. Kagami is usually the one who worries about everything. I wonder why I'm doing it now…?_ Tsukasa wondered. _And why is Kagami the one being all calm now?_

"Hey, Tsukasa…" Kagami began "How do you feel about Konata?"

Tsukasa thought for a bit "I really like her"

Kagami blinked. "What do you mean by like? Like… Do you… like-like her?"

Tsukasa thought a bit more "I guess?"

Kagami blinked once more. "You're in love with her now?"

"I don't know. I've never been in love before." Tsukasa shrugged "It feels painful and happy and exciting and a whole bunch of other feelings when I think of Kona-chan. Is that weird?"

"Nope, it's not. That, my precious little sister, is, without a doubt, love of the most genuine kind I have ever seen" Matsuri said as she walked into the kitchen

"Oh, Matsuri. Don't overstate it like that." Inori followed close behind

"What about you, Kagami. What do you think of YOUR girlfriend?" Matsuri teased

"Er… she's nice?" Kagami said, not really convincing anyone

"Wow, that was the most forced response I've ever heard. You're lucky the girl's in love with you else you'd get dumped" Matsuri commented dryly

"Well, I told her that I couldn't return her feelings but she still chose to start this whole thing. I don't think I'm the one at fault here" Kagami retorted

"Just keep telling yourself that"

"And what do you mean by that?"

As the banter between Kagami and Matsuri continued, Inori and Tsukasa were chatting

"So how have your dates been?" Inori asked

"They've been nice." Tsukasa said "It's a bit hard to tell how things have changed, though"

"What do you mean by that?"

"We still do what we normally do as friends"

"Well… does it feel any different"

"… I guess it does feel different from before…"

"Well, nearly any date is good when you're spending time with the person you love." Inori said "By the way, have you two kissed yet"

Tsukasa blushed a bit. "Er… no. Not yet"

Matsuri overheard them and asked Kagami "What about you Kagami, have you and Kusakabe kissed?" She teased

Kagami's face turned a shade darker as blood rushed in. "Ah… well…"

"Oh my god, you've kissed already" Matsuri face was that of shock "How is it that the one-sided-love relationship gets to first base before Tsukasa's?"

"Hey! I like Misao plenty." Kagami gave a red-faced protest "It's not THAT one sided."

"How did you feel when you kissed?" Inori asked, genuinely curious

"Ah well…" Kagami thought back. "… It… it was a blend of emotion… I remember being angry at Misao… being surprised… happy… I don't know …"

"Surprised?" Matsuri asked. "Don't tell me. She kissed you from out of the blue!"

"… er… yeah, she kinda did"

"Well… Gotta commend that Kusakabe. She's bold"

"… Can we please stop talking about this and have breakfast…" Kagami pleaded

**LUCKY STAR**

"Konata, Yutaka, I'm going now" Sojiro shouted

"Dad, wait!" Konata replied from the kitchen "Your lunch"

"Oh right. Thanks"

"Jeez dad, you're still as forgetful as always" Konata said. She handed the lunch box to Sojiro "Alright, here's your food. Remember to eat it this time. Do you still remember the room for your interview?"

"Yeah." Sojiro tapped his forehead "All in here"

"Good. I hope you get the job."

With that, Sojiro went off.

Konata returned to the kitchen and continued having breakfast.

Yutaka swallowed some rice and asked "How's uncle Sojiro's job hunting going?"

"Nothing yet. Hopefully he'll get this one" Konata reached over the table and grabbed the carton of orange juice

"What are you going to be doing today?" Yutaka asked as she held out her glass for Konata to fill

Konata filled Yutaka's glass and moved to fill her own glass "Well, I'm sorta going over to Tsukasa's again. Remember, we're having a sleepover?"

"I'm going to be going to Minami's house again" Yutaka sipped some of her juice. "You're not gonna be back when I get home are you?"

"No. It's called a sleepover for a reason. Sorry Yu-chan" Konata downed her entire glass "Ah… Don't worry about food though. I made you guys' dinner earlier. Just reheat what's in the fridge."

"Thanks onee-chan"

"Don't mention it"

The two continued eating

**LUCKY STAR**

"Bitch, let me get some sleep!"

"It's nine in the morning and grandma wants you up!" Misao shouted

"Shut up! It's summer vacation! For once, let me fucking sleep in!"

"I'm not the one calling the shots here, _brother_"

"But you don't have to be such a bitch, _sister_"

"Masaru, Misao! Get down here now and have breakfast or so help me…!" The two heard from downstairs

"We're coming grandma!" Misao replied "God damn it, Masaru! Get up, you lazy bastard"

"Shut up! I get it! I'm getting up!" Masaru said as her began rubbing his palms over his eyes "… Bitch"

Misao made a shaky sigh, obviously frustrated with her brother. _Calm down, Misao; just think of the sleepover later._

**LUCKY STAR**

At one o'clock that afternoon, the door to the Hiragii household opened.

"Hey Tsukasa and her twin" Konata greeted with her signature cat face

"Good afternoon Kona-chan" Tsukasa replied cheerfully

"I have a name, you know" Kagami said dryly. "Whatever, just get in"

Konata entered and made for the stairs to Kagami's room. Upon reaching her destination, she immediately made herself at home

"The way you act, it's almost like you're not just a guest." Kagami noted with a hint of irritation

"Hey. I've been hanging out here for nearly two weeks." Konata retorted "I practically live here"

"Yes, you HAVE been staying at our house a lot. You do realize you could stay at your own house once and a while, right?" Kagami reasoned "Don't you have anime to watch or something?"

"Er… Well, nothing good is on these days" was Konata's excuse.

"Uh huh" Kagami said with a raised eyebrow, not really convinced

"Besides, being here makes it easier to spend time with Tsukasa" Konata hugged Tsukasa

"Aww. That's sweet, Kona-chan" Tsukasa hugged her back

"You two are so cute it almost sickens me…" Kagami commented

"What's wrong, Kagamin? Are you jealous because you and Misakichi aren't cute?" Konata teased

"S-shut it!" Kagami's cheeks reddened "Misao and I are plenty cute!"

"Oh! Would you like to make a little wager on that?" Konata asked with a mischievous smirk "What would you be willing to bet?"

"I don't like that look on your face" Kagami frowned "Firstly, making bets for something so subjective is stupid; secondly, I'm not going to be making any bets involving Misao unless she's right here"

"Really now…?" Konata looked at her with her cat smile "Then we better get Misao here"

At that moment, the doorbell rang

"I'll get it" Konata chimed as she shot up and bolted of the door

"… I can almost see exactly where this is going and I don't like it one bit…" Kagami said dryly, knowing full well that the person who rang would be Misao.

"Why's that?" Tsukasa asked, still attempting to process the three or so minutes of conversation that just transpired

Kagami sighed "I don't know. I'm sort of imagining a cute-off between me and Misao against you and Konata"

"Really?" Tsukasa asked excitedly "Who do you think would win?"

"How should I know?" Kagami answered

Kagami sighed again. _Jeez. Why does Konata always do stuff like this. She must know I find it embarrassing… _She paused and then shook her head._ And look at me. I'm already assuming she's done it. Man, I shouldn't be so assuming. If I make it a habit I might end up offending someone… What if I end up offending my professors in college? Or worse I end up offending someone offering me a job and – Darn it Kagami, there you go again letting your imagination go wild!_

With a sigh, Kagami reached for the plate on the table and began eating the cookies Tsukasa had baked.

Several seconds pass before Konata and Misao burst into the room.

"Kagami, help me prove to this midget that we're cuter than her and imouto!" Misao shouted, pointing at Konata who had an amused grin on her face

_Wow, this is truly surprising!_ Kagami thought in a fit of inner sarcasm "You DO realize you're trying to out-cute Tsukasa, right?"

"Eh…" Misao stared at Kagami. She stared at Tsukasa, and by proxy, Konata who had decided to sit on her lap. Misao seemed to lose confidence.

"… Well… That would be way harder to top than I thought…" With a blush, Misao relented. "I don't think anything could out-cute that…"

"Actually…" Konata began "You haven't even seen what untoppable cuteness is yet"

"Yeah. We've seen two who were way cuter that we are." Tsukasa agreed

"I don't believe you!" Misao yelled "Show me some proof"

Konata got off of Tsukasa's lap and showed Misao something on her cellphone

"… Wow…" Misao was speechless.

"What? Let me see" Kagami leaned over to look. "… Wow…"

It was a picture of Minami feeding Yutaka some ice cream

"You should have seen Hiyorin when I showed this to her" Konata joked "I don't think I've ever seen her have a more impressive nose bleed"

"Cute as this is, I don't think you should have shown her" Kagami said concern "Wouldn't losing too much blood kill her?"

Konata thought for a bit. "Nah" Konata dismissed it "It would take at least a liter of blood for her to be in any real danger"

"Really? How do you know?" Kagami asked skeptically

"I read it online."

"You know, not everything you read online is true"

"No, I'm sure this is true. They had sources and everything" Konata insited

"Alright fine, I get it"

There was a moment of silence

"Well, Misao, are you just gonna stand there?" Kagami deadpanned

"What…?" Misao suddenly realized she was still standing in the middle of the room. "Oh… right. Thanks Kagami"

"Don't mention it." Kagami said off handedly as she once again began nibbling at the cookies Tsukasa made

Misao took a seat next to Kagami.

**LUCKY STAR**

The four sat at the table in Kagami's room, studying for their college entrance tests

"Kagami, I'm bored!" Misao complained

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Kagami asked, not looking up from her book

"I don't know. You're the host aren't ya? You're not doing a good job taking care of your guest"

"I ask again, what do you want me to do about it?" Kagami said dryly "I can't read your mind, Misao."

"Well neither can I because I don't know what I want to do" Misao said vaguely "But I don't want to just sit here reading."

Kagami looked up from her book "You're the only one complaining, Misao. Just look at Konata and Tsukasa… actually never mind…" Kagami glanced at the two and noted that they were asleep.

Kagami sighed "Alright, I guess it would be okay for us to take a little break" She stretched her arms "Ah… So what do you want to do?"

Misao leaned back on her floor cushion and was now lying down. "Like I said, I don't know… You want to go out for a run?"

Kagami looked out the window. "It's daytime in the summer and there's not a cloud in the sky. If you want to go jog in the sun for a while, be my guest, just don't expect me to join you" She returned to reading her book

Misao sat up and moped. "Awww. But I want to be with you"

"Well, can you think of anything we can do in-doors?" Kagami asked, not really interested in thinking of something to do.

"Maybe break out the Play Station?"

"My sisters are watching a movie right now, so we can't use the TV"

"Computer games?"

"We don't have games on our computer and our internet's been on the fritz for the past three days. Sorry"

"Okay, do you have any manga?"

"Not really. I've got a lot of light novels though." Kagami said "Tsukasa probably has some but I'm not letting you take any without asking her"

"Awww. You're no fun, Kagami. Stop being such a stick in the mud!"

Kagami looked at her with a raised eyebrow "If you don't like my company, you could always leave"

"But kaaaaagamiiiiiii…" Misao moaned as she slumped onto the table in defeat

Kagami put her book down and sighed. "Misao, as much as I like doing things with you, I also like my peace and quiet." She said with and edge of irritation

"I know…" Misao said glumly "Sorry…"

Kagami sighed again "You don't need to say sorry." Kagami laid her hand on Misao's head

Misao blushed heavily when Kagami patted her. _Wow, this is nice._

"Look. My sister's movie should end in around ten minutes. If those two don't wake up by then, why don't we go down and play some video games?"

She beamed at Kagami "Thanks Kagami"

Kagami smiled back. _As annoying as she is, that girl's smile is just so infectious_

**LUCKY STAR**

Konata woke up in a daze. _Where am I?_

She looked around and saw that she was lying down on the floor next to the table and Tsukasa had her arms wrapped tightly around her, with her face incredibly close to Tsukasa's.

Konata was filled with surprise. _We must have fallen asleep while studying. How did we end up cuddling like this though?_ She wondered

_So cute…_ Konata thought as she noted how Tsukasa's face seemed to exude an aura of innocence that Konata wished to take for herself, and urge which she resisted with all her being.

_She wouldn't mind if I kissed her right…? I mean, it's just a kiss… And she IS my girlfriend… _Konata reasoned in her head whether or not to kiss Tsukasa. _But it wouldn't be the same than if she gives it to me. I would have stolen it. That would be like cheating on dating sims by unlocking CGs using gamesharks or something._

As Konata convinced herself that stealing a kiss would be wrong, Tsukasa slowly drifted out of consciousness.

"Oh… good morning Kona-chan" Tsukasa greeted sleepily

"Good afternoon, you mean" Konata corrected

"Oh…? Good afternoon then…" Tsukasa greeted once more. Her eyes began to focus and she realized that their faces were mere centimeters from each other

"k-k-kona-chan…" Tsukasa's felt hot as she let go of Konata and struggled to sit up

"I'm sorry…" Tsukasa said

"Nah, don't worry. I kinda liked it." Konata reassured her "And you know what? That nap felt great"

Tsukasa smiled "Yeah. I love taking naps"

Konata smiled as well "I'm sure you do" Konata sat up and stretched

"Where do you think Onee-chan and Misa-chan are?" Tsukasa wondered

"HA! TAKE THAT!" They heard from downstairs

"They're probably down stairs playing video games" Konata said mischievously. "Hey, Tsukasa, I have an idea"

**LUCKY STAR**

The two had brought out the Play Station and were playing a shooter.

"Hey! We agreed not to use grenades!" said Kagami as her character got blown backwards by the explosives

"Sorry, my fingers pressed the wrong button!" Misao apologized

"Like hell they did!"

"OH GOD!" Misao screamed as their two characters found themselves face to face when they turned a corner.

Kagami's character moved back and dodged a knife swing by Misao's character. Kagami then flicked the analog stick and surged forward for a knife attack of her own. She knifed Misao's character and took the final kill

"HA! TAKE THAT!" Kagami yelled in victory.

"Hahaha! That was amazing!" Misao said in awe. "An awesome dodge, Kagami!"

"Well, I try" Kagami said in mock modesty "But I have to hand it to you, Misao, you've gotten better at this. With a little more practice, you might be able to beat me"

"Really?" This caused Misao to grin "Wow"

They suddenly heard footsteps upstairs.

"I think our sleeping couple upstairs is finally up" Kagami joked "Shall we check on them?"

"Heh" Misao chuckled "took the words right outta' my mouth"

They got up, turned off the game console and TV, and made for Kagami's room

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami and Misao approached the door but stopped when they heard the two inside talking.

"Kona-chan, are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure Kagami won't mind"

_What?_ Kagami put her ear to the door. Misao did likewise

"I don't think this is a good idea. We've never done this before…"

"Relax, Tsukasa. We'll be fine"

"Well… Okay… I trust you…"

Kagami and Misao looked at each other. _Are they about to do what I think they're about to do?_

"Tsukasa, stop covering it. Let me see"

"I'm sorry, it's just… embarrassing"

"Don't worry about it. I'm not gonna' judge you"

Kagami blushed. _That's it, I've heard enough._

Kagami burst through the door "And just what do you think you two are doing!?"

"We're doing some studying" Konata and Tsukasa were sitting at the table, apparently comparing answers to their homework.

Konata smirked "What did you THINK we were doing?"

"I-I-I…" Kagami was speechless

"We totally thought you two were having sex!" Misao said bluntly.

Tsukasa's face exploded into a blush. "W-whaaa!?"

Inori and Matsuri dashed in from the end of the hall

"What's this about having sex?" Matsuri asked

**LUCKY STAR**

The four had returned to studying. It had been at least two hours since the "sex" incident and Konata noted that it was almost time. Konata and Tsukasa stood up

"Alright. Kagamin, Misakichi, we're gonna be cooking dinner now." Konata said as they began to make their way to the kitchen

"Konata, I swear, if I got down there later and hear any sexual innuendo in any of your conversations, you will be sleeping outside" Kagami threatened

"Whoa there, tsunderella, don't you think that's a little harsh?" Konata reasoned

"Firstly, don't call me _tsunderella_. Second, do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to explain your little prank to my sisters?"

"Alright, jeez." Konata relented "Learn to lighten up, why don't you."

"Konata-" Kagami began but was cut off by Misao who suddenly placed her hand on Kagami's

Kagami glanced at Misao who shook her head slightly. _Don't say something you might regret._

Kagami grit her teeth and looked back to Konata "… Sorry… Anyway, hurry up. I want to have dinner on time tonight"

Konata smiled and gave an exaggerated bow "Anything for the sister of my beloved" She joked, before she closed the door behind her.

Kagami seemed to relax. "… Thanks Misao"

"Don't mention it." Misao told her "But jeez, Kagami, it was just a joke. Why'd you have to overreact like that?"

"I don't know…" Kagami sighed "… I don't know…"

Kagami slumped onto the table

Misao grew concerned. _Did I say something hurtful?_ "Hey now, you're being all mopey all of a sudden"

"It's nothing Misao…" Kagami reassured her "I just feel… tired… for some reason…"

_Yeah right. You were fine a few minutes ago… _"It's okay Kagami… you can tell me…" Misao said "I can take it…"

"… Konata…"

In a word, Misao understood. _Of course it's her…_ "It hurts to see those two sometimes doesn't it…?"

"… I'm sorry… I know you're my girlfriend and everything but… I just…"

"It's not your fault. You can't help how you feel." Misao comforted her. "But it's also isn't Konata's fault. I don't think she understands how much that prank hurt you…"

"We're a lot alike, aren't we?" Kagami said bitterly, tears forming in her eyes "We're both in love with people who won't return our love"

_She said it… Don't cry Misao. Keep it together…_

"I don't know what to do…"

_Give up on Konata. Please! Choose me! _"Just keep fighting. Only time will tell what will happen."

Kagami laughed, tears flowing down a river on her cheeks. "… Why is it that when I'm feeling emotional, you always seem so much smarter…?"

Misao chuckled "Like I said before, I have no idea. I'm literally pulling things out of my ass right now" She joked

"You have no idea what 'literally' means do you?" Kagami began drying her eyes.

"Nope" _At least she's not crying anymore…_

Kagami giggled "Somehow I'm not surprised"

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah… I guess"

"Can I have a thank-you-kiss?" Misao asked hopefully

"Not today, Kusakabe" Kagami deadpanned

"At least on the cheek?"

"Eh… why not I guess" Kagami kissed Misao's cheek. Misao's heart fluttered.

All the bitterness she had inside melted away with a single electrifying kiss._ You may not love me, but I love YOU. That won't change any time soon_. Misao thought as she gave a shivering squee as if she were overdosed on caffeine

Kagami giggled once more upon seeing Misao in a red faced spasm.

**LUCKY STAR**

The two in the kitchen were a well-oiled cooking machine, simultaneously working on two different dishes and at the same time, helping out the other with their own dish.

"Cuddling with you felt nice" Tsukasa said as she chopped meat into little pieces

"Really?" Konata diced an onion and put it on the frying pan. The oil on the pan and onions sizzled on contact "Well, I guess I AM pretty huggable" She joked

"I also liked that you decided to sit on my lap earlier" Tsukasa said. She then switched places with Konata in front of the stove and put the now-chopped meat into the pan, churning it about with a large spoon

"Hey Tsukasa" Konata chopped some garlic cloves and some chili "Do you like me?"

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa switched places with Konata so she could put the chopped garlic and chili. "I like you a lot. I always have"

"Compared to before I mean." Konata said and she stirred the cooking food "How do you like me now?"

"Hmm" Tsukasa seemed to think. She began cutting the vegetables "I guess I like you a lot more now. I think I might be in love with you" She said with uncertainty

"Oh…" With a blush, Konata moved aside.

"You know, I noticed something" Konata said as Tsukasa added the freshly chopped vegetables to the pan

"What is it?" Tsukasa asked

"Normally we're supposed to chop and prepare all of the ingredients BEFORE we start cooking." Konata stated as she began gathering the last ingredients "We're doing it WHILE we're cooking and somehow we seem to finish preparing them moment we need the ingredient"

"Oh?" Tsukasa added the last of the additions to the food "You're right. I only noticed now…"

"And when did we finish making the miso soup and rice?" Konata wondered "This is getting weird"

"… I don't remember… I think we started those at around the same time as the curry…"

"… Maybe we get some sort of super powers when we're cooking!" Konata said excitedly

Tsukasa smiled "I'll set the table. Could you call my sisters?"

"Right-o!" Konata gave a salute and dash upstairs

**LUCKY STAR**

The four Hiragiis and their two guests sat at the table for dinner

"This tastes amazing!" Misao yelled, mouth half full with food.

"I agree. Tsukasa, Konata, how were you able to make all of this so fast?" Kagami was just as impressed as Misao

"I don't know" Tsukasa said

"We have super powers when we cook together!" Konata exclaimed

"Right, the 'real super power of team work'" Kagami said dryly

Matsuri burped "Excuse me. Gotta hand it to you two, this is the best meal I've ever had"

"I agree" Inori concurred "You two could become gourmet chefs"

"Eh?" Konata didn't seem convinced

"Really?" Tsukasa beamed at her

Kagami smiled, seeing Tsukasa so happy.

They continued eating

**LUCKY STAR**

"Alright, I've got some movies we can watch" Konata said as she took three DVDs out from her bag

"Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica" Kagami read the title "Magical girls? Seriously, Konata?"

"I looks a bit too cutesy for my tastes" Misao said

"I'd like to watch it" Tsukasa said

"That's two to two." Konata noted. She turned to the older Hiragii sisters. "What about you girls?"

"I'm up for some magical girls." Matsuri grinned "Been a long time since I last watched anything like that anyway"

"Same" Inori agreed "Why not right?"

Konata giggled "Boy, are you in for a treat" She said as she put in the first disk

**LUCKY STAR**

**(A/N: Watch Madoka Magica. These reactions are just a few of many and you'll have a better time relating with them if you've already watched.)**

Upon reaching the end of the first movie, Tsukasa looked like she was about to break down, Kagami was pale as a corpse, Matsuri and Inori were clinging onto each other. Overall, majority of the people who watched looked to be scarred for life.

"Sayaka… s-s-she… she…" Tsukasa muttered as she hugged her legs.

"… I was not expecting any of that…" Kagami said, struggling to find her words

"That was not the kind of anime I liked watching as a kid" Matsuri said as she gripped at Inori even tighter

Surprisingly, Misao was affected the least. "That was awesome! Hurry up and put the next movie on" She asked Konata

"Why would you want to watch any more of that!?" Kagami asked in horror

"It ended in a cliff hanger. I want to know how it ends" was Misao's answer. "Who knows, it might end happily"

"I-" Kagami was taken aback at how reasonable her answer was. She was actually surprised that she didn't see it, considering how obvious it was. "I guess… I guess you're right…"

"Hey Tsukasa" Konata nudged Tsukasa

"Y-yeah?" Tsukasa said shakily

"Here" Konata handed her a glass of warm milk she had apparently prepared for her while the movie was playing.

Tsukasa took a long gulp "Ah… Thanks… I think I can watch the next movie… I hope it's a happy ending…"

Konata gave her a comforting smile before going up to the player.

Matsuri stood up "I don't think I can take more of this tonight." She walked out the room

"Yes. Me as well" Inori began to follow her sister out the room "But… If I may. I'd like to borrow those DVDs sometime."

Konata gave her a thumb up "Sure thing"

She switched the disks and pressed the play button

**LUCKY STAR**

By the time they finished the last movie, it was nearly midnight.

The four had taken baths and had changed into their pajamas. Well, not pajamas, per se but changed into their sleeping clothes, none the less.

Kagami and Tsukasa were wearing actual pajamas, while Misao wore a T-shirt and jogging pants, and Konata wore a just a tank top and her underwear.

"Konata, are you sure you're okay with sleeping like that?" Kagami asked

"Sleeping like what? On the floor?" Konata answered with another question

"No, I mean with… just that…" Kagami blushed slightly "Don't you have any other nightclothes?"

"Nope" Konata replied as-a-matter-of-factly

Kagami sighed and had the futons laid down in her room.

Futons were strewn across the floor haphazardly. With Konata and Tsukasa's in the very middle, lying perpendicular to each other and Misao's in the far end of the room, near the door.

"Jeez, guys. I told you to lay the futons on the floor, not toss them about and see where they land" Kagami scolded

"Well, Tsukasa laid hers in the middle and fell asleep quickly after" Konata noted as she poked Tsukasa's sleeping face

"Stop that Konata. Let her sleep" Kagami said sternly. "And what about you? You plan on using Tsukasa as a pillow or something?"

"Actually, I just threw it onto the ground without thinking" Konata said with a scratch of her head "Guess I'll fix it now"

Kagami sighed "What about you, Misao? You seriously gonna sleep by the door?"

"I tend to need to go to the bathroom a lot" Misao stated

"Alright, no need to elaborate" Kagami said dryly "Just turn off the lights"

Misao stood and turned off the lights "Night guys"

"Good night, Misakichi. Good night Kagamin." Konata chimed

"Good night Chibi. Good night Kagami" Misao bid as well

"Go. To. Sleep." Kagami said in exasperation

**LUCKY STAR**

Konata sat in a fetal position on the floor next to Tsukasa. Her head was down, her eyes were closed, her arms were wrapped around her legs, her hand was holding a cell phone, and her ears were covered by earphones, all the while, she was swaying gently and rhythmically.

Simply put, she was listening passionately to music on her phone. Why she would be doing that at six minutes past two in the morning requires a more complex explanation

Konata couldn't sleep – she's been having restless nights for weeks and tonight was no exception.

Most people would think it's because she's always up gaming so her body clock was set differently, but that was not the case. She felt the sleep claw at her, attempting to pull her into its embrace, but try as she might, she could not meet it – Try as she might, sleep would not come to her naturally. Only when fatigue had caught up to her would she finally lose consciousness.

There are a number of possible reasons for why that is the case, many of which Konata was pondering on as loud anime opening themes silently blasted her from her earphones. Her session of inner contemplation and max-volume music was halted however when Tsukasa began shifting in her sheets

Tsukasa suddenly awoke, eyes wide, breathing quick, and body trembling. It's safe to assume she woke up from a nightmare and was now panicking.

"Tsukasa?" Konata looked at her, worried. She responded with a wide-eyed stare that slowly began forming tears

"K-kona-chan…" Tsukasa managed before she began crying. "There was this car and… y-y-y-you…"

_This can't be good._ Konata hugged her "Shhh. There, there. I'm here Tsukasa. I'm fine. Everything's fine"

"Then that cat thing. It-it-it tried to-to-to"

_This is because of the movie I made her watch…_ Konata realized. With regret for her actions, she hugged tighter. "Oh, Tsukasa…"

"You… A witch… a-and Kagami…." Tsukasa failed to finish because began sobbing

"It was just a dream, Tsukasa. We're okay. You're home. You're in Kagami's room. I'm here with you. Kagami's here too. We're both fine. It was just a dream, a bad dream."

As Konata continued soothing her with calm words, Tsukasa's breathing slowed and she stopped shaking as violently.

"… It was scary…" Tsukasa said numbly

"It's over now, Tsukasa. You're fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine" Konata said.

_She's gonna have trouble falling back asleep_. Konata realized. _I need to think of something to help her_.

Konata flipped open her cell phone and began shifting through her music files. "Tsukasa, here" Konata offered her an ear phone

Tsukasa lifelessly accepted the ear phone.

The song, as is almost all her other songs, was from something she had watched. It was actually from a web series she had recently discovered while browsing the internet. Konata played the music. After a few seconds, she began singing gently.

_Don't you worry about the dark  
I will light up the night with the love in my heart  
I will burn like the sun  
I will keep you safe and warm  
Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day  
I will be there to take all your fears away  
With a touch of my hand  
I will turn your life to gold_

It was a bit awkward as the lyrics were in English, but it was the only song on her phone that fit the situation. Either way, Konata sang just as passionately as she always would. Another verse and chorus past and she hit the bridge

_Don't worry, I've got you  
nothing will ever harm you  
I'm close by, I'll stay here  
through all things, I will be near  
Close your eyes  
don't you cry  
Love's around you  
in time, you'll fly_

After the final chorus, she finished off the song with as much feeling as she could muster. The last line ended and Konata's voice slowly faded into silence.

Tsukasa was breathing steadily, eyes closed. Konata smiled. _Well. That didn't take long._

She slowly eased Tsukasa back into her futon and then returned to her place next to her.

**LUCKY STAR**

Misao stood outside the door to Kagami's room, awestruck by how beautiful Konata's voice was.

_Kagami was right_. Misao thought. _She sounds like an angel…_

Misao hung her head. _How am I supposed to compete with that…?_

Misao moved to open the door, but right before she could do that, it slid open.

Misao and Konata jumped in surprised

"What the hell Misakichi!?" Konata said in a suppressed scream

"I could ask you the same thing" Misao replied in a loud whisper "How can you move around without making noise?"

"Back at you. I didn't even realize you weren't in the room"

"You had music blaring from those headphones when I left for the toilet" Misao told her. "And when I got back, you were singing"

"Oh… Well that explains a lot of things."

"Right…"

There was an awkward silence

"Hey, you want to go out for a run?" Misao asked Konata

Konata stared at Misao in confusion. A normal response of anyone asked from out of the blue, in the middle of the night, if they wanted to run

"What?" Konata blinked

"The air outside is cold and I've been feeling restless all day." Misao told her "I can't get to sleep so I might as well burn off some energy."

_I've got to say: I'm impressed at how much energy you have. _Konata thought._ I'm drowsy to the point of dropping. Why would I WANT to run…? Then again, even with that said, I STILL can't sleep. Maybe a little late-night run is just what I need._

"… Eh… sure. Why not" Konata agreed to run

"Well, you better go change, though" Misao said

"What do you mean?"

"Just a suggestion. If you want to go on a run in the dead of night wearing a tank top and panties, I'm not gonna stop you."

"… Right, forgot about that…" Konata sighed and went back into the room "I'll be right back"

**LUCKY STAR**

**Some things to point out:  
-Masaru Kusakabe is another OC. I pulled up a template for generic asshole and made him what he is. I don't think I'll be giving him any more screen time though  
-Madoka Magica is an anime I absolutely adore. It has faults, yes, but nevermind those faults. Everyone should watch the show for its color coded magical lesbians  
-The song I referenced is Gold by Casey Williams. It was made for the web series, RWBY by Rooster Teeth.**

**So majority of this was written in three sprints: one immediately after I uploaded chapter 4 two Sundays prior; another a few hours before I uploaded this today; another in the hours before dawn last Wednesday. The rest were done sporadically – a few lines every so often for the past seven days. If you think some parts are more detailed than others, that's because those were the parts that I wrote between midnight and six am last Wednesday.**

**If you're a little weirded out by that, let me put it into perspective. I have ideas in my head that I want to add to a chapter. What I do is select a number of them at random and write them. After which, I rearrange the order of events so they flow better – and maybe write some context for it make sense. Rinse repeat.**

**That said, I wanted to do SO MANY THINGS in this one day alone. I'm sort of disappointed that I wasn't able to put them all in one chapter… Then again, if I DID put them all in one chapter, it would probably be 12k words or something and I'd have been writing from midnight till dawn for three days…**

**Wow, this was a REALLY long winded end note.**

**Anyway, in the next chapter we will not be seeing Konata and Misao on their run in the dead of night but will be following Miyuki Takara in the events of her life that takes place on the same day.**

**Again, reviews are appreciated. I'd be very glad if you point out to me any typos, grammar mistakes, or plot holes you find.**

**Next chapter should come out in a week or so… probably… no promises…**


	6. Morning filler

**Lucky star has a boat load of characters and I try my best to give all of them some screen time. That said, I feel like Miyuki, Ayano, Minami, and Yutaka need some more scenes. Follow their day in this chapter**

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki Takara awoke to the sound of something tapping her window. It took a minute for her to come to her senses. The moment she did, she put on her glasses and looked at the wall clock.

_5:30 am_

Her short internal puzzlement of 'why am I awake at 5 in the morning?' was enlightened when she heard the tapping once more

_Whatever could that be?_ Miyuki slowly arose and made her way to the window and peeked through the curtains.

Minami Iwasaki stood in the courtyard, unmoving, like a statue.

Miyuki closed the curtains and walked to her wardrobe. She was going to change out of her pajamas into something a bit more casual.

Now you may be asking why Minami was up so early, and why Miyuki didn't ask herself this very question. In truth, that would be the very first thing she would do if she had not gone thought this exact situation before – which she, in fact, has. As for why Minami was up so early, well…

As with the last time this happened, Miyuki calmly walked out to the courtyard and greeted Minami

"Good morning, Minami. Shall we go for a stroll?"

Minami nodded and the two of them went out for a little walk through the neighborhood

Many times in the past, Minami would awake early in the morning, normally due to nightmares, and she would often go to Miyuki for comfort. While these nightmares became less and less frequent as the years went by until nightmares barely tormented her at all, Minami still occasionally goes to Miyuki for different reasons. Most recently, Minami had been coming to her for advice involving her relationship with a certain Yutaka Kobayakawa

"I'm still nervous around her…" Minami explained "Ever since… _that time_…"

Miyuki cringed a little at the mention of 'that time'.

A few days ago, Minami, in a moment of weakness, succumbed to her desires and kissed Yutaka during a date they were having at an ice cream parlor.

Now, Yutaka didn't mind it at all – in fact, she was overjoyed that her significant other opted to give her a physical and _visible_ show of affection. Minami, on the other hand was horrified.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the little peck on the lips she gave her girlfriend –she was very much delighted in it. No, she was horrified by her own lack of self-control. This caused her to doubt herself in her self-imposed role of Yutaka's protector – to the point of actually considering whether or not she herself was a threat

Miyuki didn't know what to say to her. Minami would be convinced of anything if she were given enough facts. The problem was that there were almost no facts at all to tell her in her dilemma – something Miyuki was very distressed by

The only actual fact is that Minami kissed Yutaka on impulse and without consent. And with that information, Minami inferred that she could be a possible threat to Yutaka's safety if she didn't have more self-control. She had convinced herself that she would one day lose her grip again and do something horrible to Yutaka – something Miyuki thought was a ridiculous conclusion to jump to

Granted, there isn't really any evidence that she WOULD do anything bad, but then again, there isn't any proof that she wouldn't – which is exactly what Miyuki told her.

"Not the most reassuring kind of comfort, is it?" Miyuki noted Minami's increased anxiety. "But it is the truth. If you still don't trust yourself, I ask you this: Do you trust Yutaka?"

"Yes" Minami said without a moment's hesitation

"Then you should also trust yourself." Miyuki told her "Yutaka believes in you. And you believe in her. Isn't that enough?"

"…" Minami stared at the ground, debating with herself whether or not she herself should be trusted. After a few minutes of silent walking, she finally reached a conclusion "If Yutaka trusts me then I too must trust in myself"

Miyuki smiled, happy that Minami's problem was resolved.

The two had stopped walking at a park which they had frequented when they were little – with 'frequented' being a simplified term for 'had visited once or twice'.

Despite them, not going there often, the two had fond memories of being in that exact park at one point in their childhoods.

"This is where we became friends" Minami said, surprising Miyuki. She pointed to a sandbox "There…"

A torrent of memories flooded into Miyuki as she remembered just what happened in that sandbox.

It was one of the rare occasions that their mothers had elected to bring their daughters OUTSIDE. That morning, Minami had awoken from a rather vividly unpleasant dream. Minami tried to hide that fact, and she did it well. Honoka didn't see. Yukari didn't see. But Miyuki did. She saw that the mint haired girl was still traumatized by whatever she experienced in her sleep. She saw and she comforted her – in that very sandbox.

"We met each other before, but before then, we were just neighbor children who our parents forced into play dates." Miyuki noted "Now, we're practically sisters"

Minami smiled in her rare visible displays of emotion (sans Yutaka) "Yeah… I guess we are"

Miyuki eye-smiled and continued walking, looping into their previous path

The two returned to their houses, hopefully arriving before any of their mothers had woken up.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Akira, I made breakfast" Minoru said through the door "You decent?"

Akira Kogami was bedridden. She had gotten sick one Friday afternoon and had remained sick for the two weeks that followed. Her mother had gone on a trip and thus, she was left alone in her house while she was essentially incapacitated. Minoru took it on himself to care for Akira, mostly because he considers her a friend, but also, in part, because he's getting paid by Akira's mother to do so in her stead.

"_Just get the hell in here_" Akira ordered grouchily.

Minoru opened the door and entered, carrying a tray with breakfast.

Akira lay on her bed in a nightgown. Her salmon hair was messy and so was the rest of her.

Minoru helped Akira sit up, and set the tray on her lap

Akira eyed the food "_You call this breakfast?_" She asked in disgust

It was a bit of a letdown breakfast. Minoru had made a western breakfast, consisting of just buttered toast, bacon, and eggs. Granted, the toast was a perfect golden brown with an even coat of butter, the bacon was sizzling with a greatly satisfying aroma, and the eggs were cooked scrambled, just the way Akira liked it. As small of a breakfast as it was, she didn't have anything to complain about.

"Am I gonna have to force feed you?" Minoru threatened. "Because if you refuse to eat again, I swear, that is exactly what I'll do."

"_Yeah, yeah. I'll eat._" Akira took a slice and bit off large a mouthful.

After a few more bites, the toast was no more. She picked up the fork and began making stabs at the bacon. "You know… you didn't have to do this" She muttered

"What?" Minoru was in the middle of a thought but as abruptly pulled out by Akira's unintelligible whisper. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that"

"_I said you didn't have to do this_." Akira said irritably "_I can stand. It's not like this bed will try to eat me alive if I move_"

"The last time you tried to stand, you collapsed halfway to the bathroom" Minoru said dryly

"_Fine. Fine_" Akira conceded. She cut up the eggs with her fork and began eating again.

"_I'm done_" Akira said in a neutral way

Minoru raised an eyebrow. She had not eaten all of the food. There was a strip of bacon and at least a third of the eggs left. Minoru however, didn't question her.

"Here" He handed Akira a glass of water and dropped a tablet of medicine on her open palm. "Drink up"

Akira swallowed the medicine and chased it down with water.

Minoru took the glass and tray and proceeded to leave

"Thank you…" Akira said quietly

Minoru paused before the door "You're welcome" He walked out the room to the kitchen to wash the dishes

**LUCKY STAR**

Breakfast at the Takara residence was subdued. The usual lively chatter of the adults was a bit less pronounced that morning. Something both Miyuki and Minami noticed

"It seems Yutaka has been visiting you a lot lately" Honoka said cheerfully

"Oh she has?" Yukari noted "Interesting…"

The two daughters had noticed something about their mothers. When on the subject of Minami's relationship, Yukari seemed to be the most uncomfortable talking about it, doing her best to steer the conversation away from the topic, while Honoka was the opposite, bringing it up as often as she could.

Miyuki glanced at Minami. _This behavior is strange, don't you think?_

Minami glanced back and nodded

She looked at their parents and tilted her head slightly. _I don't understand_

Miyuki eye-smiled apologetically. _I don't either_

Their subdued breakfast continued

**LUCKY STAR**

Ayano Minegishi was having breakfast with her sister.

It was a silent breakfast, as was the majority of activities the two took part in in for the past few days.

Ayano and her sister Akira had an argument three days prior. As Ayano was known to become somewhat scary (read, freakin' terrifying) when angered, and Akira was of similar temperament, their arguments tend to get a little… intense – this was no exception.

However, this would mark the first time the fall out of their arguments lasted longer than a day. This worried Ayano to a point.

_She still hasn't accepted that what she said was wrong_. Ayano thought as she swirled her ramen with her chopsticks. _I know what I said was hurtful, but if I say sorry now, she'll get even more pissed_.

The cause of most Minegishi family quarrels was differing opinions – the moment one popped up, an argument quickly followed. Words would be said, threats would be made, and after a few hours, actions would be regretted. In the end, the family would apologize to each other and the issue would resolve itself

This didn't happen. Instead, Akira remained adamant on her opinion and showed no indication of regretting what she had said.

_She wasn't so unyielding before_… Ayano noted. _Why is she still insisting her opinion is the right one?_

"Sister…" Ayano began

"Yes, Ayano?" Akira asked calmly

"Why do you think girls can't love girls?"

"… Why are you bringing that up now? We're eating" Akira asked in annoyance

"It's been three days since the argument, Sister. Why are you being so stubborn?"

"Because this ISN'T an opinion." Akira said with slow rising fury. "Homosexual relationships cannot produce offspring so girls literally can't love girls"

"You know as well as I do that your reason is bullshit" Ayano said, growing angry as well

"What gives you the right to say my reason's bullshit?" Akira snapped "It's not an opinion, it's a scientific FACT"

"What about emotion? Attraction? If two girls love each other, why can't they be together?"

"You seriously want to start this argument again!? First thing in the moring!?"

"Misao is my friend. Kagami is my friend. I will not stand by while you insult their relationship"

"Oh, you mean the relationship where the love isn't even mutual? Don't make me laugh. That Hiragii girl? She's using your precious little Misa-chan as an excuse you ignore her feelings. She wants to forget the person she's in love with, so she threw herself out there. It just happened to be that Kusakabe was the one to catch her"

Ayano stood up. Akira stood as well. They were both just about ready for violence at that point; it was only a matter of who struck first.

The two stared each other down. As the seconds passed, the air in the room grew more and more tense, as if an explosion was set to go off at any moment – which would not be far from the truth.

Neither was willing to back down, but neither wanted it to come to blows. They had both reached an impasse with each other AND themselves.

In the end Akira just sighed. "I'm done with breakfast. Thank you for the food" She took her bowl and put it in the sink before stalking out of the room

Ayano sighed as well and abruptly collapsed into her chair.

"There's a deeper reason as to why Akira doesn't like that they're together…" Ayano thought "I KNOW there is…"

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki stood at a balcony in Minami's estate, polishing her glasses. She had been rubbing the same lens with the glasses cloth since twenty minutes ago.

To most people, it would seem that Miyuki was so deep in thought that she no longer knows what she was doing outside her inner contemplation. That's only half true.

While Miyuki WAS deep in thought, her thoughts weren't focused and wandered anywhere and everywhere. Simply put, she was spacing out.

"Miyuki, do you know where I left the TV remote?" A call from Yukari snapped Miyuki out of her daze.

"…Oh dear. It seems I was day dreaming…" Miyuki said to no one in particular. "What did mother call about?"

"Yukari, the remote's over there" Miyuki heard Honoka say

"Never mind, Miyuki, the TV remote was on the table all along" Yukari called out from downstairs once more

"Don't watch for too long, Mother"

"Awww. Okay then"

"Don't worry, Miyuki. I'll get her to stop after a few hours" Honoka said

Miyuki smiled to herself.

She began polishing the other lens of her glasses. Suffice it to say, she would space out more than once that morning.

**LUCKY STAR**

Ayano, Misao, and Masaru were walking the town that morning. The girls were window shopping while Masaru followed them.

"Why am I here again?" Masaru asked, bored out of his mind

"Because, dear, you WANT to be here" Ayano said cheerfully

"Er… Yeah… Exactly…" Masaru said nervously

Misao giggled.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Hello Minami" Yutaka Kobayakawa greeted cheerfully.

Minami had left an open invitation to Yutaka to visit any day during the summer. Yutaka took full advantage of it and came to Minami's house as often as she could.

"Hello, Yutaka" Minami said monotonously

Minami felt uneasy. Yes, she had resolved herself to have as much self-trust as Yutaka trusted her, but that didn't mean she completely eradicated her anxiety – no, her anxiety was very much still there, just in a different form.

Not that Minami showed it. She kept it in and almost no one could sense what she was feeling – almost

There were two exceptions: Miyuki, who had built enough of a connection with her to be able to guess, and Yutaka, who seemed to be able to tell what she was feeling the moment they met

"Are you okay Minami?" Yutaka asked with concern "You seem nervous"

She could read Minami like a book (not that she understood what she was reading)

"I'm fine." Minami assured her. She let Yutaka in and then shut the door. "What would you like to do today?"

"I'm okay with anything you want to do" Yutaka said happily

Minami twitched imperceptibly. _No you wouldn't_. "I don't really have anything in mind"

"Are you sure you're alright, Minami?" Yutaka asked with a furrowed brow.

_She's cute when she's worried. Oh I could just-_ Minami panicked internally. She had been in Yutaka's company for not even a minute and already her self-control was wavering. _Get a hold of yourself. Yutaka trusts you and you MUST NOT betray it._

"Yes. I'm fine" Minami said, barely audible. "I'm just a little on edge today…"

Minami took a gamble at giving her a half truth.

Technically, she was lying to her, thus, was ALREADY betraying Yutaka's trust, but that particular detail didn't present itself to Minami because all her thought processes had gone to alleviating Yutaka's anxiety over her

"Then why are you on edge?" Yutaka asked in worry "Tell me what's bothering you"

"I'm okay, Yutaka. Really" Minami insisted with not much conviction

Unsurprisingly, Yutaka wasn't convinced "Please tell me what's wrong. You trust me right?" Yutaka pleaded, on the verge of tears

Minami's train of thought was thrown out the window. "I…" _I'm being stupid. I told Miyuki that I trusted Yutaka but here I am doing the exact opposite. Stupid!_

After a moment of mentally beating herself up, Minami sighed. "I trust you… and sorry…"

"What's wrong, Minami" Yutaka asked again

"… I'm scared… Scared about what I'd do to you… if I lost my self-control" Minami said "I feel like I'm a threat to you"

Yutaka blinked "I that it?"

Minami just stared at her. She was not expecting a reaction like that. Confusion, disgust, anger, sympathy – she expected all that and much more. But she did not expect to get a mix of relief and disappointment.

"What?"

"You were being weird for days now so I was really worried that I did something wrong." Yutaka explained "I thought you were nervous because you wanted to end our relationship"

"I…" Minami was at a loss for words "you haven't done anything wrong"

"And you're not a threat" Yutaka told her. "Whatever you do, I'd be fine with"

Minami was taken aback. "Yutaka, I don't think you understand…" She began

"Anything…" Yutaka smiled shyly. "… As long as it's you…"

Again, Minami was speechless. There she was worrying about what Yutaka would think of her if she knew what Minami wanted to do to her, when Yutaka didn't care. She trusted Minami so much. It was enough to move the mint haired girl to tears

"I…" Minami began but was cut off as Yutaka abruptly pulled Minami's face down and pressed her lips against hers

It was wet. It was soft. It was electrifying. It was a blend of sensations and emotions that made Minami's heart pound. When Yutaka pulled away slowly, the euphoria didn't end, so Minami just stood there with heavy breathing, elevated heart rate, and teary eyes, staring in awe at Yutaka.

_And Yutaka gave that to me_. Minami realized as tears kept flowing. _She actually WANTED to kiss_…

"Wow…" After a few seconds, the childlike girl began jumping giddily "That felt wonderful!"

_I was worrying about my own desires but didn't once think of Yutaka's…_ Minami thought with a bitter smile.

Minami collapsed onto her knees "Thank you…" Minami said meekly

"Ah! Are you alright?" Yutaka asked in surprise

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" Minami managed to stand up "Thanks"

Yutaka beamed and pulled Minami into a hug "You're welcome"

"That was beautiful!" A compliment came from Honoka Iwasaki who was leaning on the doorway to the living room, accompanied by Yukari Takara.

The couple simultaneously exploded into a blush, realizing that all of what just transpired had happened in the middle of the entrance hall, a few feet from the door.

"That was a rather… sweet scene" Yukari noted with an edge of coldness to her voice that was subtle but very much unsettling.

In stark contrast, Honoka "Yes, very cute" She chimed

The pair of blushing highschoolers gave embarrassed greetings to the two adults before briskly walking past them up the stairs to Minami's room

"Do you think we killed the mood?" Honoka asked, more because of curiosity than of concern

"Yes, but I think it was for the best" Yukari said. "I'd rather they have… intimacy… where I can't see them"

"The two of them alone in a room" Honoka giggled "Intimacy indeed"

**LUCKY STAR**

As the red-faced couple hurried down the hall, they noticed a door leading to a balcony was open.

They peered in and saw Miyuki standing there, looking at the sky.

"Hello Miyuki" Yutaka greeted. Miyuki didn't respond.

Minami sighed. She walked next to Miyuki and took the glasses she was polishing.

Miyuki blinked. "Oh, Minami, when did you get here?"

Minami stared at her

"Oh dear. I was spacing out again wasn't I?"

Minami nodded

"Oh dear…"

Neither Minami nor Yutaka were surprised by this. When left on her own with nothing to do, Miyuki tended to let her mind wander – something the Yutaka had seen numerous times during her visits

"Would you like to hang out with us?" Yutaka invited

"Wouldn't I be a bother?"

"We don't really have anything to do." Minami said "A bit more company wouldn't be bad"

"Well, thank you" Miyuki gladly accepted the invitation

**LUCKY STAR**

Ayano had decided to show some mercy to Masaru and told him to just meet her at the plaza in the center of town at lunch.

Masaru, starting to wonder whether window shopping boredom would be an acceptable cause of death, was relieved to hear that he did not need to follow the girls around anymore. The moment he got his freedom, Masaru bolted.

"You sure it's a good idea to let him leave like that?" Misao asked as she watched her bother disappear into the crowd

"Don't worry, Misa-chan, if he knows what's good for him, he'll show up at lunch." Ayano reassured her

"Like I said before, I think you're the reason your relationship is strained" Misao joked

"I don't know what you're talking about"

**LUCKY STAR**

"Yoohoo, anyone home!?" Yui Narumi called out

Her entrance to the Izumi residence was met with little resistance. In fact, aside from the locked front door, her entrance wasn't met with anything – the house was empty.

Yui slumped onto the couch.

"Just when I get a day off, they all go out somewhere" Yui pouted "I wish my Husband was here. He would make my day better…"

Her bitter complaining was stopped when she heard the telephone ring

[Hello. Izumi residence, Yui Narumi speaking.]

[Hey, Yui nee-san]

[Konata? Where are you guys? I got to your house to hang out but there wasn't anyone here]

[Heh, sorry. We forgot to tell you about today. Dad's out job hunting again and Yu-chan's at Minami's]

[What about you?]

[I'm at work. I'll be going to Kagami's this afternoon]

[So you're saying I have no one to hang out with all day?]

[Er… Well, you could always go hang with Ms. Kuroi. I'm pretty sure she's free.]

[Nanako?]

[Yeah. She never has any plans so…]

[Hey, that's not nice!]

[Not nice but it's true. Well, I was just calling to find out whether Yutaka's left already. Looks like that's the case, so bye]

[Wait, can't we talk some more?]

_- Click -_

Yui sighed "Well looks like this is gonna be another day where I watch movies for eight hours alone in my apartment…"

Yui stalked out of the house and drove back home in a manner completely unfitting her profession as a traffic cop. (i.e. she drove like a speed demon with a no reluctance to break any and all traffic laws for the sake of an adrenaline high.)

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki moved her bishop so that it was in line with Minami's king "Check"

The two had decided to play chess because Yutaka suddenly asked who was better at sports. Since the two didn't exactly have a preferred sport, nor were they willing to play any such sport on an unpleasantly warm and sunny day as it were, they decided to use board/card games instead. It just happened that chess was the game chosen.

Minami moved a pawn to block the bishop's path and at the same time, opened up a path for her own bishop for a possible check in the next turn

The two stared at each other, trying to read the other's strategy.

Minami and Miyuki had been playing these kinds of games for years. They've studied the other's techniques and strategies to the point that they were practically their own.

The two maneuvered their pieces in quick succession, both knowing exactly how the other would react. Turn after turn, an attack was made and was met with a counter immediately after. Eventually, after a number of turns passed, the two had reached a stalemate. Neither had a good counter for any of the other's possible moves and both had no idea how the other would react. It took them only five minutes to get to that point.

Yutaka had been watching the game intently, clearly enthralled by the two. _When I had asked who was better at sports I didn't think they'd turn it into a competition._

The two alternated between staring at the board and staring at each other. They had no idea what to do, and from the looks of it, would not have one any time soon.

Several minutes passed

This may take some time…

**LUCKY STAR**

"Well… he's not here. Too bad" Misao said "Let's eat, I'm starving"

It was already eleven that day and Masaru still had not arrived.

Ayano looked at Misao "No, Misa-chan. We wait for Masaru-kun" She said sternly

"He could always catch up to us. Just text him and-"

"No, Misao"

"C'mon, Ayano, be reasonable"

"No"

"C'moooon. Can we at least wait over by that tree – maybe buy some food from that stand as well?"

"Misao"

"Ayano, its hot and I'm hungry, cut me some slack"

Ayano sighed "Fine, well wait for him in the shade of that tree. Go buy your food"

"Right-o!" Misao saluted before she dashed for the stand

Ayano looked at her phone. _11:30, no messages. What is he up to…?_

**LUCKY STAR**

Yui walked out of the video rental store with three DVDs.

Konata had been pestering her to watch a certain anime in her last visit. That particular detail came back to Yui when she began browsing the shelves and she found herself in the anime aisle.

Thinking 'Hey, why not?' she scanned the shelf for the particular title and rented it.

_I wonder why Konata wanted me to watch this… Mahou Shojou Madoka Magica…_ Yui thought as she walked back to the place where she parked her car. _It looks a bit cutesy but I think I'd be okay with it_

While Yui was busy contemplating her rental, a boy ran across the street and crashed into her. Not only did the two collide, but several cars ended up bumping into each other. Thankfully, no damage was done to any property or people other than a slight scratch of some of the cars' paint. Even still, it was quite a scene.

"I guess this is why jaywalking is illegal…" Yui struggled to get up. She looked to the boy "Hey, kid, you alright?"

The boy looked a bit dazed but answered "I think so…"

Yui looked at the boy's vaguely familiar face. "Hey, I know you." Recognition dawned on Yui's face. The boy was Masaru Kusakabe.

"YOU!" Yui yelled.

Masaru blinked away his dizziness and recognized Yui "Y-you!"

"Alright, you're coming with me." Yui took out a pair of handcuffs "That's the third time this month and I'm getting sick of giving you warnings"

"No, you don't understand. These thugs, they were-" Masaru began explaining quickly but was cut off

"Well, well, well" Three large men had crossed the road and were now looking down on the pair on the ground "Finally caught up to you"

Yui stood and faced the men "Can I help you gentlemen with anything?"

"I'm sorry miss. We just have a little business with the fellow lying on the pavement there" One of the men said

"Well I have some _business_ with him as well." Yui said calmly "Perhaps you could let us finish."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do that." The man replied

"Yeah, we have a little debt to pay, hehe" another of the men chuckled

"Might I ask what you owe him…?"

Masaru had stood up by that point and was slowly backing away

"No can do ma'am." The first man moved forward in an attempt to grab Masaru.

Masaru bolted, only to be pull back by his wrist which has apparently already been cuffed.

Yui kept Masaru from running and pushed the man away from him "Kusakabe, what did you do…?" Yui asked coolly

"I didn't do nothing"

"You were being an asshole was what you did" The third man finally spoke "Miss, this boy gravely disrespected us. We wish for justice"

"I'm sorry boys, but justice is already served" Yui pulled out her badge

"Er…"

"This kid caused a bit of scene here." She gestured to the cars that were stopped on the road and the people gathered around them "I'm assuming you were going to beat him up. If what I think is correct, you three are partially responsible for this"

"Erm… no. What you understand is not correct." The first man said

"Yeah, we wanted him to… apologize… yeah. We wanted him to apologize. He didn't want to so he ran away"

Yui smiled "Is that so?" She looked to Masaru "Well? Apologize"

"… Sorry" Masaru said, not really sounding sorry at all

"There. Now that that's done, I'll be taking him to the station"

The men looked at Masaru darkly, probably contemplating whether they were willing to let him go. All the while, Masaru was struggling to break the cuffs

"Kusakabe, if you want to get out of this with no injury, I suggest you let me finish negotiations" Yui whispered.

"Ma'am, thank you for your help" The third man said with a controlled voice. "I hope he doesn't trouble you again"

"I hope not too" _Meaning, you hope I won't be with him again when you next come for him_. Despite her ill thoughts toward the three, she smile and bid them farewell.

As the three walked into the now dispersing crowd, Yui pulled Masaru close "What the hell was that all about?"

"I didn't do nothing!"

"Kid, you just caused a lot of trouble for the traffic cop for this particular area. Unless you want me to tell her about you, I suggest you start talking"

"Okay okay! Sorry" Masaru said quickly "Look. I bumped into him, he sorta got mad, told me to say sorry, and I didn't"

"I don't think that was all of it"

"Okay, so I also maybe insulted him a bit."

"Wow you are the most disrespectful kid I've ever seen." Yui noted "Well, I'm gonna take you to the station now"

"What!? Why!?"

Yui looked at him "What do you think…?"

"… Right…"

**LUCKY STAR**

"That was quite a match" Miyuki said cheerfully

Minami had won, albeit by a small margin.

Half an hour into the game, both had a pawn and the king as their last pieces. As it were, Minami's pawn was one square closer to the other end of the board than Miyuki's. In accordance to the rules of chess, Minami was able to swap her pawn for a queen. At that point, Miyuki was finally able to read what Minami was going to do and found that nothing she did would help her, so she conceded, giving the victory to Minami.

"Minami that was amazing!" Yutaka gushed

"Yes, a very impressive performance" Miyuki agreed

Minami stared at the two of them and nodded slightly

"Oh, no need to be modest. You beat me fair and square" Miyuki told her. She giggled quietly. _She's embarrassed. How cute._

"Minami I like how you were all serious right before the end and then suddenly you looked really happy" Yutaka said, reminiscing the twenty minutes of staring followed by the finale of their game.

Technically, Minami DID transition from serious to happy but her face showed no change in emotion… to the casual observer at least.

Minami doesn't like talking and uses words only when necessary. People who are close to Minami learn to read the cues of her body language and the subtle changes of her face. The same is true in reverse, as Minami will also learn to read those who can read her.

_And she's one of them. Yutaka can read her._ Miyuki noted. _But she still can't see that her praise makes Minami even more embarrassed_

"I knew you were going to win" Yutaka said "That face you made told me"

Minami blushed. "I was able to figure out Miyuki-nee-san's strategy late in the game"

"Yes, I could tell." Miyuki said. _Well this is surprising. She's stating something Yutaka has probably already figured out. I never knew her to restate what seems to be established already._

But as Miyuki looked at the two and saw Minami's smile – something Miyuki had seen only once in all their time together – Miyuki realized just how close the two were. _To think she'd only met Minami this year and already, she's closer to her than I ever was. Minami is able to show her emotions to her_. The realization hit her hard.

_Was I doing something wrong or is it something else?_ Miyuki wondered, and the longer she thought, the more that answer became clear – so clear that she had to be blind not to see it. _Of course! They're in love. It's so obvious I'm a bit embarrassed…_

"Miyuki-san?" Yutaka snapped her out of her reflection

"Er… yes?"

"What was so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I just had an epiphany, that's all"

Yutaka looked at Miyuki and then back at Minami. _What?_

Minami blushed and looked away.

Miyuki smiled. _Looks like she understood what I meant._

**LUCKY STAR**

"Well looks like my brother's not showing up." Misao said bluntly "I've gotta be at Kagami's by one so I guess I'll see ya"

As Misao walked away, Ayano kept at her phone, checking to see if Masaru left any messages. Seeing that there weren't any messages and will very likely not have any, Ayano decided to call him.

[Hello?]

[This is Ayano Minegishi. Who are you and what are you doing with my boyfriend's cellphone?]

[Yikes. Right, well, I'm Yui Narumi. I'm a cop and your boyfriend sorta caused a little traffic accident and got himself arrested. We –]

– Click –

Ayano sprang into action the moment she heard the word "cop". _What has he gotten into now?_

**LUCKY STAR**

**Some things to note:  
-Apparently I misspelled Hiiragi as Hiragii. To be honest, I don't think it makes much difference. Either way it's still read as Hih-ra-gi (I watched the dub and that's how it's said. I'm not really sure if it's the same in the original Jap version)  
-The two OCs, the siblings of Ayano and Misao get some character development in this chapter because why the hell not?  
-Yukari and Honoka often eat at each other's houses for the sake of companionship.  
-I'm cutting this chapter in half. One because so much happens that It's hard for me two keep writing about it. I had that same problem some months ago (I also realize that nearly every chapter before this each have the content of one day)**

**A little update:  
While most of the northern hemisphere is entering their summer break, we in the Philippines are ending ours. My classes have unfortunately started already and so my terrifying life as a college student begins. Hooray!?**

**That said, expect the future chapters to be shorter, else, come out later. I'm leaning more towards shorter chapters since I write in sprints. Good luck to me I guess?**


	7. Afternoon filler

**Hello there. The last two chapters focused on two unconnected events – namely the sleep over at the Hiragii household, and the morning of Yui, Ayano, Miyuki, Minami, and Yutaka. This chapter will lead up to the part that will make them connected. Or will it? (TBH, I'm not sure. I've got the general idea for what I want but not the details, so… hahaha?)**

**Karsten69  
I did not know that. It seems sorta nit-picky, but I feel really bad about it now. I'm still gonna keep on using "Hiragii" because: One it's for consistency's sake; Two, I'm lazy and don't want to go editing the entirety of this fic wherever there are instances of the name. Thank you for the info and thank you for the praise.**

**So what will happen in this chapter? Well, a lot of things. Perhaps I should have split the Minami/Miyuki segments from Ayano's? Or maybe I should have taken the events of chapter 5 and merged them with the next few chapters? I don't know… screw it?**

**LUCKY STAR**

Hiyori Tamura sat at a table in a cosplay café in Akihabara – namely, the cosplay café what Konata and Patricia worked at. She sat there with half a glass of iced tea and a pile of crumpled paper as she scribbled furiously on her sketchpad.

Hiyori was having a bad time. She's had a drawing block for the past week and has not been able to draw anything at all. Her original idea when she went to the cosplay café was to get inspiration from the comfortable atmosphere she felt there. Unfortunately, she did not.

"Oh Hiyori-chaaan~" Patricia chimed "Whatcha' doin'" Patricia and Konata's shift had just ended and Patricia decided to have a little talk with Hiyori before she left

"I'm trying to draw something but I can't picture it in my head…" Hiyori glared at the blank page in front of her, as if a death stare would make the paper magically print a picture onto itself.

"What are you trying to draw anyway?"

"Er…" Hiyori was a little hesitant to tell her. _I'm trying to draw not-Minami and not-Yutaka kissing but I can't bring myself to actually imagine the kiss… But I'm not about to tell Patty-chan that_… "I'm drawing a kissing scene"

"So you're trying to recreate the kiss Minami and Yutaka had in that ice cream parlor?" Patty asked.

Hiyori didn't know what she was talking about but her words immediately brought an image to Hiyori's mind. _It's beautiful_. The thought of it brought an ache to her heart, a tear to her eye, and a bleed to her nose.

"Konata, we've got a blood spill on table nine!" Patty called as she tried to help Hiyori block the river of red bodily fluid flowing from her nose

"She already left." A girl cosplaying as Yuki Nagato from _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_ said in a pretty much emotionless tone.

"_God damn it!_" Patricia cursed in English. She began shaking Hiyori. "Come to your senses woman! Stop picturing them kissing!"

Hiyori made no response

Patricia sighed and looked at the only other employee there. "Well don't just stand there, hurry up and get a mop! If the boss sees this mess, he's gonna kill us!"

**LUCKY STAR**

Ayano sighed "Tell me again. WHY DID YOU INSULT THREE SIX FOOT TALL MUSCULAR MEN?" She scolded Masaru. "Are you an idiot? You could have gotten hurt! And then there's that traffic accident. I swear!" Ayano had cut off Yui and Masaru on their way to the station and literally begged Yui to release Masaru. Upon the release of her boyfriend, Ayano began to yell at him. "And to top it all off, you made me miss lunch!"

"Relax! I'll buy you something!" Masaru said in a panicked tone. Ayano's mood was bad and he did not want it get any worse. "Do you want anything in particular?"

Ayano sighed "Not really. I'm just hungry…"

"You had a date with your girl and you pulled this stunt? What's wrong with you!?" Yui slapped the back of the boy's head "You should treasure the time you have with your partner because there may come a time where… he'll never… be there… anymore" She said, her voice growing sadder and sadder. Yui shook her head. After she regained her composure, she smacked Masaru again

"Ow! I said was sorry, jeez."

**LUCKY STAR**

It was a rather late lunch at the Takara household and Miyuki, Minami, and Yutaka were sitting at the table with Yukari while Honoka was in the kitchen to bring the food. It was more than a little awkward for the three of them – Yukari was trying her hardest not to look at the lovely couple, Minami seemed to be trying to dissolve with her chair so as to not feel the tension in the air, Miyuki was analyzing the situation and thinking of a way to ease it, while Yutaka let her mind wander, completely oblivious to the electric sensation in the air.

Sort of. Yutaka could actually feel Minami's nervousness and was holding her hand under the table to comfort her. It also helped the she was exuding an aura of calm in the otherwise anxious atmosphere of the room – which can be somewhat attributed to her lack of context to the situation.

"Well…" Miyuki began "How was your morning mother?"

"It… It was fine" Yukari faltered. In truth, she didn't think it was fine at all. She had witnessed something rather unpleasant. "It was eventful to say the least"

Minami blushed as she knew what she was talking about – something Miyuki noticed. She decided not to further the topic lest Minami get any more flustered

"Here's the food" Honoka said cheerfully as she put down a large tray with a whole smoked salmon.

"Oh wow!" Yutaka was thoroughly amazed at the delicious looking fish. Minami and Miyuki also felt awe but in a far lesser extent. It was not every day that they ate food like that

After a few minutes of silent eating Honoka perked up "Miyuki, I saw something quite wonderful earlier"

Minami and Yutaka stiffened. Minami glanced at Miyuki with worry. _Please don't ask about it._

Miyuki got the message. "I'm sure you did, Ms. Iwasaki"

Honoka was, however, unfazed by Miyuki's uninterested tone. "Our two little love birds shared a rather passionate kiss earlier"

All three kids blushed. "Um… I don't… I'm not sure how to react…" Miyuki said awkwardly

If she could tell that everyone at the table was uncomfortable with the topic, she didn't care. "I'm so proud. I always knew high school would be the time when Minami bloomed"

Minami, though flustered, was hit by that statement. "… Bloom…" She looked down and her expression visibly grew sour "… yeah…"

Yutaka squeezed Minami's hand. When Minami glanced at Yutaka, she saw a smile that said: _Don't worry. I'll like your chest either way._

Minami became even more embarrassed. _She knew… _She thought to herself.

Yukari stoop up "I'm done. Thank for the food." Her food wasn't even finished. There was still half a slice of salmon on her plate. But that didn't stop her from taking her plate of food to the kitchen

Knowing quite well that her mother did not like the subject of Minami's relationship, Miyuki wondered why Honoka kept bringing it up. She glanced at Minami and Yutaka, who were also silenced by her mother's exit. _What IS the reason they're acting like that?_

_Don't ask me. I don't know either._ Minami stood up. "I'm done as well. Thank you for the food" Yutaka stood and followed. They past Yukari on the way – it was as if she was pretending they didn't exist as she didn't even look at them.

Miyuki watched her mother walk out the dining room. She wasn't the only one watching as Honoka was also looking at Yukari and when Miyuki glanced at her, she gave a sad smile. "I'm afraid I've lost my appetite. I suppose I'm done now as well. Thanks for the food"

Honoka brought the plate to the kitchen, passing Minami and Yutaka. "We'll be up stairs" Yutaka said, noticeably more subdued than she normally was. "See you later, Miyuki"

And so, Miyuki was left alone in the dining room with the half eaten salmon. _Oh dear. That was not a turn I wished this day would take…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"_I was stupid… So stupid…"_

The screen depicted a short haired bluenette girl grow limp as a large black object materialized above her.

So the couple and the cop, namely, Ayano, Masaru, and Yui had ended up watching movies at Yui's house. The movies were the ones Yui had rented earlier – Mahou Shojou Madoka Magica, a magical girl anime that Konata had practically demanded that she watch.

"That was fu-… that was messed up…" Masaru said as the end credits rolled.

"Yeah… no kidding" Yui agreed, visibly disturbed by what she just watched

"Let's watch the next movie" Ayano said, not at all fazed by the movie.

"Of course the psycho wants more…" Masaru muttered under his breath

"What was that dear" Ayano asked with her terrifying yandere smile.

"Er, nothing. Yeah, let's watch the next one. I sorta want to know how the next movie plays out."

"Alright, sure. Let's do thi-" Yui's enthusiastic agreement was cut off by her cellphone vibrating. She picked it up and accepted the call. "Hello? … Honey? … Really!? … That's wonderful! … Yeah! … Okay!"

Masaru and Ayano had no idea who it was but Yui was getting more and more giddy.

"Alright guys, change of plans. You two take the movies and go watch it somewhere else." Yui said

"What? Are you freakin' joking?" Masaru asked in outrage "You're the one who invited us, now you're kicking us out?"

"I'm sorry, but my husband's coming later and I need to get ready." Yui told them. "If that's not enough info for you, you're out of luck because I'm not giving you more than that" Yui said as she put the bag of DVDs in Masaru's hands and began pushing the couple to the door.

"Have fun with your husband. When do we have to return these to you?" Ayano said as she began putting on her shoes

"Any time this week, and thanks, I will."

And so, the two found themselves outside of the Narumi household holding a shopping bag with three movies in them. _Well…_

**LUCKY STAR**

Hiyori was in a daze. She remembered blood, a train, and the feeling of being dragged somewhere. "Where am I"

"Oh, you're at home" Patty said. "Took fucking forever, but I got you here."

Hiyori looked around a bit more as things began to come back into focus, or as much into focus it could, what with her glasses being who knows where. Hiyori could vaguely make out the details to determine that she was in fact at home in her room. _How did I get here again?_

"Here" Patty began poking her face with something. "C'mon take it… fine, I'll put it on for you." Patty had been poking her with her glasses and was now trying to put it on her. After a few seconds of fumbling she finally got them one. "There… You know, cute as you are, you really do look better with your glasses on" she said with an impressed smile

Hiyori blushed (for a number of reasons). Aside from the fact that her appearance was rarely complimented on, Hiyori's face was ridiculously close to Patty's. Yes, their faces were near for less than a second before Patricia pulled away but that was enough to fluster Hiyori immensely (although her tendency to overreact to things may have amplified the reaction).

"So, that's the third nose bleed that caused you to pass out" Patty noted. As with the other times, it involved Minami and Yutaka. Patricia noted the trend, but was curious whether it's because of those two in particular, or because she was seeing something yuri in real life. Patty decided she wants to find out. "Why DO you fuss over Minami and Yutaka so much?"

"Er…" Hiyori was surprised. _Well THAT came from nowhere. I'm not exactly sure how to answer_. "Well… You've seen them right? How can you not, right?" _That was a good answer, Hiyori – very well thought-out…._

"Well, yeah, I get it, but what is it about them in particular?"

Hiyori pursed her lips, bringing her hand to her mouth. _I don't really know… I guess I didn't really think about it… although…_ "Eh… I guess it's because they practically embody the essence of stuff from the shoujo ai that I read."

"So is it just because they're yuri that you gush over them?"

"Um… yes?" _Where is Patty-chan going with this?_

"Perfect! Because I've been feeling a bit Bi-curious lately and I'd really like to be with you." Patricia said cheerfully

"… What?"

Patricia went from happy to slightly annoyed. "Must I spell it out for you? Bi-curious. I want to know what it's like with a girl" no response. Now she was very annoyed. "You know, experience what it's like to be in a lesbian relationship?" still nothing. "_Oh for fuck's sake,_ maybe this will make you understand!" Patricia pressed her lips to Hiyori's and practically sucked all the air from her lungs.

Hiyori's mind was racing. For one, she understood Patty's statement the first time and the reason she didn't respond to it (and all other subsequent statements) was because she had no idea how to react. So many questions had popped into Hiyori's head, and despite the fact that many of them could answer themselves, she was experiencing a bit of an overload. It was made worse by the kiss and the mess of sensations and emotions that was brought with it. To top it off, that was her first kiss. To say it was 'too much' for Hiyori was an understatement.

"Wow, that was a lot less different than I expected." Patty noted

"P-p-p-p-patricia, why did you – and I – just…" Hiyori stammered

"Oh, relax, it's not like you didn't enjoy it" Patty brushed her off as she began packing her bag "Besides, you can use the for inspiration for you works"

"b-b-b-but…"

Patricia winked at her. "If you want more come talk to me." With that she walked out the door. As her footsteps receded, Hiyori couldn't help but bring her hand to her mouth. She licked her lips. _Strawberries…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"Ms. Akira, it's already two. If you're gonna lock yourself in there, at least take the food tray in. Please?" Minoru had cooked her lunch nearly an hour ago and the food was already cold. "You were fine this morning. What happened?"

"_Go away_" Akira shouted shakily

"Ms. Akira, seriously, you need to eat. You won't get better if you don't" Minoru was at a loss for words. Despite his constant and somewhat one-sided arguing with her, he just couldn't get her to open the door. _I just had to lose it._ Minoru would otherwise open the door regardless of Akira's lock if it were not for the fact that he misplaced the key he was given when Akira was entrusted into his care.

"Ms. Akira, please. I don't want you going hungry…"

"Leave me alone…"

Minoru noticed a certain shift in her voice. _It's almost like she'd been holding back tears for a while now and they only just started flowing…_ That was it for Minoru. Whatever it was that made her cry, he had to make it go away. Minoru took a solid stance and then kicked at the door near the handle. After only two tries, he managed to break the door down and enter.

"G-g-get back!" Akira was at the corner of her bed in a fetal position, desperately trying to cover herself with her bed sheet. "They-they-they're here!"

Minoru looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. _What is she seeing?_ But then the answer dawned on him. _I gave Akira her medicine earlier this morning. She should have woken up at noon but she didn't. Overdose?_ Minoru looked at the frightened girl. _She must have been having a nightmare when the medicine finally wore off. She's seeing phantoms of whatever was in her bad dream._

Technically, people who are asleep because of medicine shouldn't even _have_ dreams in the first place. That aside, Akira was experiencing a nightmare in real life and was absolutely terrified. Minoru needed a way to comfort her and the only thing he could think of was a hug. Sure, she might hit him or insult him for acting so familiar with her, but formalities be damned, she was hysterical.

Minoru hugged her and held on as tight as he could without making it painful for her. In his arms, Akira thrashed about, screaming pleas for mercy, cries of terror, and more than a few lines of profanity. It was a grueling fifteen minutes before she calmed down.

"… Hey" Minoru whispered as his grip grew looser "You okay"

"… _What do you think_…?" Akira said, tired. She hesitated a bit before talking again. "… Thanks…"

"Don't mention it" Minoru let go of Akira and walked back to the door, inspecting the lock. Akira just watched him.

There was a sudden growl. Minoru looked at the salmon haired girl on the bed "… _I'm hungry_…" Akira said with a blush.

_It's almost like none of that even happened…_

**LUCKY STAR**

Sojiro entered the house. His movement was sluggish and his face held a defeated expression. He kicked off his shoes and left them where they fell, not bothering to arrange them neatly. Upon entering his room, he took of his coat and tie and threw them onto his bed.

He stood in front of the mirror next to his bed, staring at his reflection, noting the bags under his eyes. "Nothing…" He said aloud, his voice, hollow. A day comprised of three different job interviews and none of them had accepted him. They didn't even give him the 'we'll review your profile and get back to you' thing. They just straight up rejected him.

"What am I going to do…?" He slumped onto the mattress like a ragdoll, melting into the sheets as they enveloped him. Although it was still late afternoon, he felt more tired than he had ever felt in years. _Maybe this is all a bad dream, and when I wake up, things would be different._ It did not take long for sleep to take him.

**LUCKY STAR**

**Well… That was a chapter.**

**I'm at my second week at college and I am very tired… all the time… Anyway, I go to bed at ten these days and now get 7 hours of sleep, and to be honest, I don't think it's making a difference. If anything, I feel even more tired than when I slept 3-4 hours a day. I don't even have inspiration to write anymore. I normally get it in the middle of the night and by then I'm asleep. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed another short chapter.**


	8. The night is cold

**So here is chapter 8. We finally put an end to the 4 chapter long 24 hour cycle – and to think all of the previous chapters fit and entire day into a single chapter.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 8 "The night is cold"**

**LUCKY STAR**

Redhead freshman high school girl Yutaka Kobayakawa, accompanied by her ever-stoic girlfriend, Minami Iwasaki, was on a train heading for her home in Saitama. The day's activities at the Iwasaki estate had grown somber since lunch so they came to an unspoken agreement that Yutaka would not be staying for dinner. So there she was, speeding along the tracks as she watched the sunset through the train car windows, Minami sitting beside her, holding her hand. The train was surprisingly devoid of passenger and the lack of said persons caused the car to be soothingly quiet

"Mrs. Takara was being unpleasant." Yutaka pierced the silence with the statement.

Minami was surprised. It was quite unusual of her to comment something in negative light. In fact, one might say it was impossible for her to do so. Yet there, in the empty train car, Yutaka casually criticized Yukari, Miyuki's mom negatively. Granted, it was only mildly negative, but it made a difference to Minami. "Is something wrong?" She asked

"Miyuki's mom doesn't seem to like us anymore. When she looks at us, it makes me feel like we did something wrong…" Yutaka said. "It doesn't feel nice when she looks at us."

Minami squeezed Yutaka's hand. It comforted Yutaka but it would only be temporary. If Minami wanted to make a difference, she had to tell her what she knew. The only problem is that she didn't know a lot – at least not for sure. Then of course there's the fact that she has to _tell_ her with words. "It started when she found out about us"

"What?"

"She began acting like that when she found out we got together." Minami explained. "It seems she's trying to hide it but she really dislikes the fact that we're dating. I don't know whether she's trying to hide her dislike because she doesn't want to outwardly oppose us or because of another reason. Then there's the other question of _why_ she dislikes our relationship. I wish I knew more"

"Does Miyuki know?" Yutaka asked

"She knows about as much as I do." Minami said "I'm not surprised. I don't think she'd have an easy time bringing the topic up"

It was food for thought, and thoughts were all that remained for the rest of the trip. They sat in silence until they reached their stop

**LUCKY STAR**

[What do you want, brother?]

[Hey Misao. Where are you again? Grandpa and grandma were asking]

[I'm at Kagami's. Why?]

[I said the geezers were asking for you. Alright, bye]

[What are yo-]

- Click -

**LUCKY STAR**

When Ayano got home, her expression was more than a little haggard. Sure, _physically_ she was about as good as she always was at that time of day. Emotionally and mentally was another story.

Earlier that day, she and her boyfriend had watched a rather… disturbing… series of movies about cute little anime girls who fight witches. The movie had gotten her emotionally invested in it and she was utterly drained by the end of movie one – and there were three movies.

"I'm home!" Ayano called from the entrance. She took off her shoes and wandered the house. She was not met with any welcome. "Where is everybody?" She walked to the kitchen and saw a note on the table. "_Went to buy groceries. If not home by dinner, leftovers in fridge"._ It was well past dinner time and no one was there so Ayano checked the fridge. Sure enough, yesterday's dinner was wrapped neatly in a plastic microwavable box. Her only problem now was her appetite. She didn't feel like eating and it would be a waste if she heated the food and wasn't able to finish it so she decided to just go to bed. _It's a little early but I'm tired. If I wake up hungry I could always just heat up the food._

With that, she went up to her room and slept

**LUCKY STAR**

Dinner at the Izumi household had been lonely. Yutaka had heated the food Konata prepared for dinner and ate alone at the table. Her uncle, Sojiro, had not come down for supper and so Yutaka was left to a quiet meal with herself and some empty seats.

After which, she prepared a bath, heating the water it just short of being unpleasantly hot. After a quick but thorough scrubbing and rinsing, she lowered herself into the tub, wincing slightly from the heat. There she remained calm and quiet for a few minutes, thinking of the day's events.

She thought about the most recent thing that had happened to/near her – namely, Sojiro Izumi's apparent depression. She wasn't exactly sure it was depression, but she felt the aura of hopelessness emanating from the door to his room. She found it more than a little disturbing so she decided to think of something else.

Her rather quiet afternoon at the Iwasaki Estate felt incomplete. There was a feeling of tension in the air all throughout her stay and it all began when they had lunch with Mrs. Takara and Iwasaki. Yutaka didn't understand why Yukari disliked her, or rather, her relationship with Minami. _What's so wrong about dating the person you love?_ Yutaka asked in her head. _Love…_

"I'm in love with Minami." She said bluntly, as if trying to convince herself. "I'm in love… I kissed her…" She blushed but it wasn't obvious as her skin had reddened due to the heat of the water. "Minami… I… love…" She hesitated for a few seconds then splashed at the water. "I can't do it!" She sunk into the tub until only her nose and upper parts of her head were exposed. _Why can't I say it?_

Yutaka stood up suddenly, causing small amounts of water to spill out of the bath tub. She wobbled a bit as dizzy static hit the edges of her vision. She regained her balance and got out of the water. I wish I was stronger: strong enough to not get sick all the time… strong enough to tell her 'I love _you'… strong enough to not need to rely on Minami all the time… strong enough to able to help Minami when she needs it…_ She stood there, dripping wet and shivering. Her body yearned to be dried off and warm again but she remained rooted to the spot. She was crying. It wasn't obvious, what with her hair making water trickle down her face constantly, but yes, she was crying.

After a few minutes, a point came where she wouldn't be able to ignore the cold even if she wanted to. She quickly dried off and put on her pajamas.

When she got to her room, she plopped onto the bed and hid deep within the warmth of her covers. There was no energetic big sister, calm and collected mother, kind-hearted uncle, or quirky cousin to tuck her in. For the very first time since she moved to the Izumi residence, she felt vulnerable. It was like she was in a hospital bed again. Everything was cold and unfriendly back then, with the only things she felt at ease with being her pillow and bed sheets, and even those didn't last long before they too were replaced with 'clinically-clean' new ones. That familiar feeling was not a nice one.

Sleep did not come easily to her that night.

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami awoke to hear Konata singing. She had been having an unsettling dream that was not quite psychologically scarring, but was nowhere near enjoyable. When she opened her eyes, she heard Konata moving around, saying things like "Tsukasa, what's wrong?" Kagami deduced that Tsukasa also had a nightmare. Kagami was about to move in to comfort her but then Konata began singing. Deciding against getting up, she feigned sleep and listened in.

Konata's singing voice – her actual singing voice – was one of the most beautiful voices Kagami had ever heard. The lyrics were in English but it didn't matter. She felt the emotion and power of the song – she felt the motherly warmth the song was exuding. She was moved near to tears.

But alas, the song ended and Kagami was left with silence. She shifted a bit until she could see Konata and Tsukasa from her lying-down position on her bed. Konata was lowering Tsukasa's head onto her pillow. She had a fond and loving smile on her face as she did so. After she tucked her in, she kissed her lightly on the forehead. Kagami could barely hear a whispered "Sleep well". After which, Konata stood and quietly – almost soundlessly – walked out the door

Kagami felt a bittersweet swell in her heart. _Tsukasa trusts Konata. Trusts her enough that her nightmares are all but forgotten when she's held by her… And Konata's willing to help Tsukasa with whatever she's having trouble with, whether it's homework or bad dreams._ She clutched her chest. _Why do those facts have to hurt me so much? I get it, I love Konata, but I don't want to feel like this anymore. That's why I have Misao. _Kagami blinked. _Misao_… Kagami curled up on her bed, hugging her legs_. Is that all she is to me – a distraction – a pain killer?_ She clenched her teeth. _We've been friends for years. She confessed to me. And I answered her. Heck, we've even kissed! Do I REALLY think of her as nothing more than a toy to keep from thinking about Konata?_ Tears began welling in her eyes. _I am a terrible person… I don't deserve her love… I don't deserve our friendship… Heck, if I can do it to her that means I can do it to anyone. I don't deserve ANY friendship_. _I should just stay alone for the rest of my life so I don't hurt anyone… _She began shaking._ But I don't want that. Am I willing to hurt others for my own benefit – so I don't feel lonely…? I don't know…_ There was a stream of water flowing down her cheeks by the time she realized she started crying.

All that time that Kagami was having a panic attack Konata had entered the room, got changed, then got out. Both girls were oblivious of the other's presence.

As Kagami continued her downward spiral, Tsukasa had awoken, feeling the foul presence in the room. She drowsily looked at the source and found that it was a shaking and crying Kagami. She slowly got up and crawled into her bed to hug Kagami. "Sis, I'm here"

Like a transfusion of new blood to a patient bleeding to death, Kagami hugged back tightly and relief washed over her almost immediately. "I'm here" Those two words and the warmth of Tsukasa held Kagami together. "Stay with me" Kagami said shakily, sobbing quietly as she held her sister.

And stay she did. They eventually fell asleep together.

**LUCKY STAR**

It was a beautiful night. Misao and Konata, after a brief chat and briefer argument, had gone out for a jog. It was two in the morning but the two couldn't sleep and they both were adepts at running. What better to do in the middle of the night than what they had in common?

The two wore tracksuits. Despite covering their entire body, they still felt the chill of the night air.

Misao took long strides, seeming to float every time she pushed her body forward. Konata took shorter, quicker steps, bouncing up and down rhythmically. They both said nothing and they jogged under the pale yellow rays of the street lights scattered around the empty neighborhood, the cold early morning wind biting the skin on their faces.

They came at a stop near a bench

"I'm surprised you can keep up, chibi" Misao joked as she plopped onto the seat.

Konata took a seat as well. "You'd be surprised at a lot of thing I do" Konata said smugly, albeit slightly out of breath. She had a pleased look on her face "Never underestimate me"

That earned a chuckle from Misao "Heh. You know, you're not that bad, chibi" She leaned back on the bench, looking up at the stars. "You're a whole lot different than what I thought you were…" She said quietly "I used to hate you."

Konata blinked. _Hate?_

"Back then, Kagami had only just met you but you were closer to her than I ever was. It wasn't long before she stopped paying that much attention to me… It hurt me…" Misao leaned forward and looked towards the ground, brow furrowed. "I thought you were the reason she left. I thought you were trying to steal her away. I hated you for it. I wished you and Kagami never met…"

Konata tilted her head slightly.

Misao met Konata's curious eyes with hers. "But you weren't. You weren't trying to steal her from me. You were just being yourself." Misao chuckled. "I can see why Kagami was drawn to you. You're an amazing person Konata."

Konata, who would normally revel in complements such as those simply stood there with red cheeks. Whether those red cheeks were from the cold or because she was blushing was not apparent.

Misao sighed. She closed her eyes and steeled herself. When she opened her eyes, she said "But what am I saying. Kagami has a mind of her own. If she chose you because you're an amazing person, then I've gotta be a better one. I WILL win Kagami's heart." Her face was a look of determination.

Konata was surprised – surprised by a lot of things. The first and perhaps biggest surprise would be Kagami and her apparent love for her. If what Misao's statements implied were true, what Konata had written off as nothing more than a general tsundere quality during her teasing was actually an attraction to her specifically. She never really saw Kagami to be someone who would be interested in other girls. _Then again, she's dating Misao… Wait…_

"Hold on, aren't you two already dating?" Konata asked, her sudden realization sparking a question. "Doesn't that mean Kagami's already chosen you?"

"Er… Well…" Misao scratched her head. "It doesn't really feel like it… it feels like she's using me to forget you"

"Okay, I didn't exactly see that Kagami was in love with me, but I'd like to think that I know a lot about her." Konata began. "If she's using you to make her forget me, then do it!" Konata shouted enthusiastically. "Make her fall in love with you! She's willing enough. The very reason she even accepted your advance was because she trusts you."

"I-I…" Misao stuttered "I wasn't expecting you to react like this…"

"Really now? What DID you expect, me being ecstatic for getting into a possible 'harem route'? Just who the hell do you think I am!?" Konata said in outrage in a voice a little louder than it should be at two thirty a.m.

Misao stared at her. "Harem route…?" She shook her head. "Never mind. You're really okay with me being with Kagami?"

"Yes" Konata said simply. "I care about Kagami. She does her best at what she does and puts extra effort to make her best actually _be_ the best."

"…Yeah…" Misao agreed. Kagami was a perfectionist. Everything from her grades in school to the high scores in her shooter games. It was like she had something to prove to someone who wouldn't take anything but the closest thing to perfect as possible.

"But she can't to everything. As good as she is, she's only human. Sometimes her best isn't enough and she's gonna fail at something eventually. When she falls, she falls hard, and has trouble getting back up… And she won't ever ask for help…" Konata said, brows furrowed in frustration

Misao frowned. "She always tries to deal with things on her own…" Misao felt bitter. Whenever she attempted to offer help in the past, Kagami always shunned her away.

"She's asking for help now, you know"

"What?"

"She needs someone – to help her get back on feet; to stop her when she aims too high; to catch her when she falls; … to save her from the pain she puts herself though…" Konata's eyes seemed to screamed in pain as she empathized with Kagami. "She's never gonna say it but she needs someone to be there for her." Konata stated calmly "That someone can be you – _should_ be you."

"I..." Misao seemed at a loss of words. "I don't…"

"Oh for the love of Haruhi, YOU'RE HER GIRLFRIEND! Why shouldn't it be you!?" Konata said, apparently waking one of the cats sleeping nearby as a loud _meoooowr_ of complaint sounded from the roof of a nearby house.

"Well…" She couldn't really argue with that logic. "Yeah, you're right…"

"Yes. I'm right" Konata smiled. "It has to be you" She skipped forward a few feet before stopping in the middle of the rays of the street light. "Besides…" She tilted her head to look back at Misao. "I don't think it can be me"

Misao shuddered "Don't do that head tilt thing. The less I'm reminded of those stupid movies, the better I'll feel" She said, remembering the movies Konata had made them watch earlier that night

Konata checked her phone "Three a.m.… I think it's time to head back"

"Eh… sure" Misao stood. "Though all that serious talk makes me want to run some more" She said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"We can run on the way back" Konata suggested. A sly smile found its way to her face "Wanna race?"

Misao looked at her with an enthusiastic grin "Bring it"

**LUCKY STAR**

Yutaka found that her sleep was much shallower than she expected them to be. Yes, she had difficulty getting to sleep that night, but her body was normally too exhausted to wake her any earlier than when she normally woke up. That said, she was surprised when she woke up in a pitch black room.

After letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she was barely able to make out the hands of her wall clock which read 4:46. _A few minutes before dawn…_ Yutaka noted. She got up and began fixing her bed, deciding that she wasn't going back to sleep.

She fixed her bed, put on her ribbons, and made downstairs for the kitchen.

"…I think that's a terrible idea…" Yutaka heard right before she reached the bottom steps. _Uncle Sojiro?_ She crept closer to the living room until she was right outside the door.

"… I don't know, Yuki. She's a pretty frail girl. I don't think settling for a lower pay job is an option if I want to keep her here…" _He's talking to mom? They're talking about me?_ "I HAVE sold them. That's what I used to pay for this month's bills… No, Konata's stuff is hers… I don't know…" _He seems so sad…_ "Why… Why did this have to happen…? Okay… Sure… If it's for the best…"

Sojiro put down the phone and slumped onto the couch. "I'm sorry Yutaka" He muttered

"Why?" Yutaka asked aloud, not quite expecting to say it so loudly.

Sojiro jumped to his feet. "Yutaka!?" He looked to the doorway. "How much did you hear?"

"I…" Yutaka was taken aback by his behavior. Normally, Sojiro would be very kind to her, sometimes to the point of doting her – though not as much as he did to Konata. "I heard something about selling things and my mom's name…"

"… Well…" Sojiro looked haggard. It was like he hadn't had any sleep despite being asleep the when Yutaka had check on him during dinner. His hollow eyes looked at Yutaka with a certain kind of sadness "Yes… I was talking to your mother"

"What… what were you talking about?" Yutaka asked nervously.

"I…" Sojiro heisted. He wasn't sure how to respond so he decided to postpone answering "… Wait for Konata to get home. We'll discuss it when we're together."

With that, Sojiro walked past Yutaka and stalked to his room. Yutaka looked at him with concern. _I hope it's not too bad._

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki awoke to the sound of something hitting her window. Her first thought was _two days in a row?_ She got up, put on her glasses, and looked out the window. Sure enough, Minami was down there waiting for her. Miyuki yawned and walked to her wardrobe_. I don't blame her for being distressed all this time_. She thought as she began getting dressed. _I doubt disapproval by the parent of one of your closest friends would feel good to anyone_. She finished getting dressed and went down to meet Minami

**LUCKY STAR**

**This chapter was brought to you by procrastination. God damn, college is hard. And explain to me why all these people want to talk to me at the same time? It wasn't like this in highschool. Help! So yeah, I'm not doing pretty good. I really hate my schedule since I write in the middle of the night and my schedule is in the morning.**

**I hope you liked that chapter. This was my favorite chapter to write since chapter one. I've sorta had this night planned for a long time. In this chapter we addressed certain things I'm sure none of you even cared for. I'm a great writer, right? (Hahaha, no I'm not)**

**Also know that none of the scenes involving Minoru, Yui, and Ayano in the past 3 chapters were planned.**

**Next chapter should be up in a week or so. That should be something to look forward to, right? … right? … well, whatever. New chapter, a week or something, bye for now.**


	9. On this midsummer's day

**While the sleepover arc ended last chapter, there are still some things I need to do before I head over to the next arc. So here we'll have "On this midsummer's day…".**

**LUCKY STAR**

The morning of the Hiiragi household was a lively one. It began with the sound of an alarm clock set and entire hour earlier than it normally would have been.

"Uhhh…" Kagami groaned as she slapped the clock's snooze button, accidentally sliding it off the nightstand.

"Wah!?" The clock landed flat on Konata's face, waking her up. She put her hands on her face and began to spasm when the pain of the plastic box hitting her nose and forehead finally registered to her brain.

Konata's said thrashing caused Misao to awake as well. Lying on her stomach on top of Konata for some reason, she felt the shorter girl's legs kick her belly and knock the wind out of her. She made a noise of pain with every hit

Tsukasa groaned in irritation to the noise. "Five more minutes" She muttered before hugging her pillow tighter and going back to sleep.

The pillow was Kagami, who felt an increase in pressure on her chest area and heard the racket of the two on the floor. She opened her eyes to find her twin hugging her tightly, rubbing her face into her chest. "… Ah…" A blush erupted into her face.

Konata finally stopped moving around and Misao was able to sit up. The blanket slid off her back and she found that she was sitting on top of Konata in a very… misleading position. "… Oh…" They both noticed this and blushed.

The three who had gained full consciousness looked at each other and saw that all of them were in an embarrassing situation. "Well…"

They all decided to keep all of what transpired that morning to themselves (save for Tsukasa who was asleep and therefore would not be able to talk about it anyway)

**LUCKY STAR**

Hiyori was on a date with Patricia. The sun was high in the sky but the wind was pleasant and cool as the two of them walked through the park. Cherry tree's surrounded them, peppering the ground with pink blossoms and filtering the sun's rays into rosy glow though it's branches. Hand and hand, they walked, until Patricia stopped and stood in front of Hiyori, staring passionately.

_This is like a scene from an anime._ Hiyori thought as she smiled at Patricia. She smiled back and leaned in closer. Hiyori closed her eyes

"I love you" Patricia kissed Hiyori softly, bending down to reach the shorter girl. Her lips tasted of strawberries, as it had when they had first kissed.

Hiyori was in a state of bliss. _I'm in heaven. She _opened her eyes as Patricia pulled away, giving her a knowing look. "Liked it?"

Hiyori blushed and nodded._ Oh my god, how did this even happen!?_ She tilted her head forward in an attempt to give a kiss of her own before Patricia put her index finger to Hiyori's lips. "Not yet." She smiled shook her head before running off ahead.

_Why not…?_ As Hiyori asked herself that question, another question came to mind – rather, several questions. _How DID this happen?_ She thought. She began looking around, as if seeing clearly for the first time. _Its July isn't it? Why are the cheer trees in full bloom? And why are the two of us the only people in the park?_ Slowly the answer came to her. _I'm dreaming_

Hiyori opened her eyes to find herself in her bed in her bed, in her room, in her house.

A dream about Patricia Martin – a dream about dating her – kissing her: What that entails was very clear to Hiyori. _Well, it's official._ She thought as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. _I've fallen for her…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"Have you found out why she's been acting like that?" Minami's words echoed in Miyuki's mind.

Earlier that morning, just before dawn, she had called her for more advice, or in this case, questioning. Miyuki had been asking herself the same thing. _Why HAS mother been acting so strange lately? It's not like her to be so unpleasant._

The question was left unanswered earlier because Miyuki didn't even HAVE an answer. _But I WILL get one_. Miyuki steeled herself. _It will require planning…_ and she did just that, although as she planned, she began doubting whether or not she could execute it. _Oh dear, I hope I didn't forget any important details…_

**LUCKY STAR**

Yutaka was left alone in the house. Sojiro had washed up to look less like a sleep deprived psycho and more like his usual self so that he could go to another job interview. Konata had not returned from her sleepover and was probably still at the Hiiragi's. Yui had called Yutaka yesterday saying that her husband had returned, so there wasn't any chance for her to visit today. Basically, she was completely alone in the house for the entire day – or at least until Konata got back.

Yutaka sat on the couch, hugging her legs. The TV had nothing good on so she decided to leave it at a random channel. So there she sat, staring at a science channel showcasing things exploding in slow-motion. It didn't really interest Yutaka. Sure it was cool and all, but she had other things on her mind.

"Mom…" She found herself missing her mother more and more with each passing hour. The reminder of her which Yutaka received minutes before first light opened a hole in Yutaka's heart that she didn't know she had. "I wonder how she's doing…" Yutaka asked wistfully. "… what were she and uncle talking about?"

The answer never came to her.

**LUCKY STAR**

The two couples lazed around the Hiiragi house that morning. None of them had any desire to study, play video games, or even talk. The four of them simply sat in the living room enjoying each other's presence – rather, three were doing so, while one was… trying.

Misao shifted in her seat on the couch. She felt restless. She wanted to scream, run, do jumping jacks, or something! She stood, causing the other occupants of the room to look at her. "So…" Her voice pierced the silence, filling the room with a nervous echo.

"Yes, Misao?" Kagami deadpanned as she sat up straight. She was enjoying one of the very few moments of silence she experienced with her friends as did not appreciate it being shattered. "What is it?"

"… I want to do something…"

Kagami sighed "Why am I not surprised…?" Kagami massaged her temples "Okay, what do you want to do?" She asked patiently. Misao didn't respond. "Misao…" Kagami began in a stern voice

"Are you mad at me…?" Misao asked nervously

"What do you–" Kagami realized that she was glaring coldly at Misao. "… oh… sorry…" her expression softened. "I was just a little annoyed… Anyway, what do you want to do?"

"I want to… to do something where we're moving around…" Misao said "You know… stretch my legs…"

Kagami thought for a while. "Well… I've got nothing…" she frowned. "What about you guys? Do you–" When Kagami turned to face the two, she saw that Tsukasa and Konata were watching them, the former with a curious stare and the latter with an analyzing one. "… um…" Kagami glanced at Misao who seems to have also noticed the two's gaze. Kagami continued reluctantly "… do… do you have any ideas…?"

Konata blinked "Arcade?" she suggested

Kagami made an inward groan and an outward sigh. "Can't it be something we can do in the house? I don't want to go outside anymore" Misao seemed a bit saddened by her comment.

Konata noticed that. "Maybe you two should be the ones to decide. Me and Tsukasa don't feel like doing anything today" She said with her signature cat smile. "Nothing at all~" She said in a sing-song voice.

"You know, it's not a good thing to be so lazy." Kagami said dryly, crossing her arms. She looked at Tsukasa "Tell me again why you chose her and not someone else?"

"Why not?" Tsukasa asked innocently

"… right…" Kagami could have given her a number of reasons, but none of those would convince Tsukasa. Besides, she had already made her choice so there wasn't really anything Kagami could say that would change anything. "Please, Tsukasa, don't become too much like her" Kagami asked of her, not really wanting another one like Konata in her life.

"Don't worry, sis, I'll always still be me." Tsukasa said "Besides, I don't think Konata can make me any worse"

"That statement doesn't sound as positive as you think it does, Tsukasa…" Kagami said, noting the unintended implications of what her sister said. "But in a way it's true…" Kagami muttered.

"Eh…?" Tsukasa squeaked in confusion.

Konata giggled, Kagami rubbed the bridge of her nose, and Misao began pacing the room. _What the hell are we doing?_ Kagami wondered in annoyance. "Can we please get back on topic?"

"I heard a session of passionate kissing can burn thousands of calories" Konata suggested in a teasing tone.

"Can we do that" Misao asked excitedly

Kagami flushed. "NO!" She bonked Konata on the head. "Don't give her ideas!"

"Ow!" Konata rubbed her head. "Relax, Kagami! It's not like she's a pervert. She just really likes you." Konata explained offhandedly.

"How can you be so casual about this!?"

"Embarrassed Kagami is cute isn't she?" Konata asked Misao

"Yeah, very" The brunette agreed

"Damn it guys!" Kagami stomped her foot "Uhh! Why do you people have to be so annoying!" She stormed out the room

"… Don't you think she seems angrier today?" Misao asked

"Considering how this day started, I'd be VERY angry if I were her." Konata said

"Hey Kona-chan?" Tsukasa finally spoke up again

"Yes?"

"Does kissing really burn calories? Can we try?"

"Uh…" Konata was speechless. "Well, I… eh…"

Misao put a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile "Good luck" She followed Kagami out the door

Konata gave her a pleading look. _Please don't leave me with this. I'm not ready for this yet!_ Before Misao exited the room, she turned to the two and waved goodbye. Konata looked at Tsukasa who stared at her curiously. _Great, years of experience with dating sims and erotic games but for some reason none of that is registering now… what am I going to do!?_

**LUCKY STAR**

Yutaka opened the door to see a tall, mint-haired girt towering over her. "Minami…" She wrapped her arms around Minami's waist and pulled her into a hug. "I don't know why you're here, but I'm really happy to see you…"

"That text you sent me this morning…" Minami said. She after she returned home from a quick walk around the neighborhood with Miyuki, she had received a rather worrying message from Yutaka a few minutes before dawn which gave vague details involving Mr. Izumi and Yutaka's mother. After running a few errands, she took the train to Saitama and made for the Izumi residence. "I was worried…"

"… Thank you…" Yutaka said meekly.

"Come on. Let's get inside."

And inside they went. Minami got Yutaka a glass of water and asked her to sit on the couch. Of course, Yutaka argued that it's disrespectful for the guest to be the one doing things for the host, but Minami waved it off.

"But… I'm supposed to be the host…" She insisted

"It's fine, Yutaka." Minami picked her up and gently lowered her into the couch. Yutaka tried to struggle but found it to be futile and gave up. Minami, however, noticed something different about Yutaka's wriggling in her arms. Her movements were a lot more sluggish than they normally were and she stopped moving sooner than usual. "… Are you okay?" Once Yutaka was seated on the couch, Minami put her palm on her neck and then her forehead, checking if she had a fever. "No fever but…"

"I'm fine, Minami. Don't worry" Yutaka tried to reassure her. It didn't work

"How much sleep did you get last night?" Minami asked, remembering how early she got that text. "And have you eaten breakfast?"

"I ate some toast and some eggs…" Yutaka said, guilt hinting in her voice as it was not much of a breakfast. "… and I guess I didn't get much sleep…"

"Stay here…" Minami stood a walked to the kitchen. A short time after, she returned and once more picked Yutaka up and proceeded upstairs. They entered Yutaka's room and Minami slowly lowered her onto the bed. "Rest. I'll be back." She tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and walked out the door

**LUCKY STAR**

"Hey, Goldy. How ya doing…?" Kagami asked her fish swimming in the pond in her backyard. Konata had won it for her during a summer festival and became a habit of hers to sit by the fishpond and talk to the goldfish whenever she felt the need to get away from people. "So my girlfriend slept over with us tonight. It was actually less of a disaster than I thought."

The fish seemed pleased by what the twin-tailed girl said, regardless of the fact that goldfish can't exactly hear things the same way humans can.

"But what am I supposed to do with her though." Kagami wondered. "I don't really like her the same way she likes me. It doesn't seem right to me if I just give her what she wants. Then again, she's my girlfriend. I consented to it. Isn't it her right to take what I've given her? While she's willing to wait if I'm not ready, I'm not sure I ever will be. I don't want to disappoint her… What do I do?"

The fish swam in circles, as if pacing the pool, thinking of an answer.

The girl sighed. "I can't return the affection of someone I myself don't love."

"Can't we change that?" Kagami heard a voice behind her. It was Misao, who took a seat behind her and leaned towards Kagami, using her as a backrest. "Maybe I can't force you to kiss me, but maybe I can get you to fall in love with me so you'll kiss me on your own." The brunette chuckled "Simple"

Kagami pushed back at Misao so that they were equally leaning into each other "Yeah, like it would be that easy"

"Hey, I never said it was easy." She replied. Misao put her hand on the ground next to her girlfriend's hand. "But that's what I plan to do"

"Misao…" Kagami's cheeks flushed but on her face remained a sad smile. _I don't deserve her…_ tears threatened to stream down her face. She was glad they were back-to-back with eachother since Kagami's face was hidden from her girlfriend's gaze.

Misao, being unusually serious, put her hand on Kagami's. "I'll stay with you." She said with determination "No matter what"

_Stop this_. Kagami suppressed her urge to cry. _Stop being so nice to me!_ Kagami stood. If she stayed there any longer, she would have been sobbing into Misao's shirt in no time. She had to get away. "I'm going to my room. I want to be alone for a while" She walked away.

Misao noticed Kagami's forced-emotionless tone as she went back inside the house. The brunette looked at the fish. "Did I make her mad?"

The fish swam left and then right, as if shaking its head in disagreement.

"Really? That's not what I think…." Misao sighed. "Well, that coulda' gone better…" Misao shook her head "Ah, whatever. What's done is done." She went back into the house

**LUCKY STAR**

The lovely couple, Konata and Tsukasa, had moved from the living room to Tsukasa's room. The two were taking the next step to which they would further their relationship. Basically, they ended up actually making out.

It started with fifteen minutes of blushing and hesitation before a simple peck on the lips. Then they did a proper kiss, lasting about a second. Then next one was longer. After a few more minutes of repeating said activity, getting progressively more passionate as they went, it got to the point where they were, in essence, tongue wrestling – and they both loved every second of it.

"Ah-" Tsukasa gasped as she pulled away, completely out of breath. "That… was amazing…"

"Ah… I did NOT… expect… to be doing this" Konata panted as well, feeling her heart pump furiously in her chest. She laid back onto the bed and asked "So… you liked it…?"

Tsukasa joined her in lying down. "Yeah…" She hugged the shorter girl. "Thanks…"

"D-don't mention it…" Konata hugged her back. After a few minutes, their breathing went back to normal. "So… want to go again?" She realized that Tsukasa was asleep. She was stuck in the embrace of someone whom she wouldn't dare wake. "… Well…"

**LUCKY STAR**

Last night, Yutaka felt lonely and scared on her bed. It was dark, cold, and strangely foreign to her despite living there for nearly half a year now. But right then, she didn't feel that way. She felt relaxed and happy. _Minami is here. She's here to protect me… To protect me…_ Yutaka's perception of reality began to waiver as she drifted deeper into her mind, yet her mind itself remained lucid, which allowed her a moment of inner contemplation without worldly distractions.

The world of her mind was dark, empty, but not cold. There was a single light in the vast expanse of nothingness from which emanated a comfortable warmth. It glowed mint green.

"Minami is here to protect me again… Why am I always in need of help…? Why can't I do things on my own…? I don't want Minami to worry again but that's all I ever do…" The light grew brighter, warmth washing over her ethereal body. _It's fine_ "No, it's not fine! I don't want to be a burden anymore. I want to be stronger." The light dimmed, and the heat vanished. _She'll always be there for you, won't she?_ "I know she'll be here for me, but who would be there for her?" It grew cold – so cold it threatened to freeze her to death. _You can._ "How can I be there for her if I can't stand on my own!?" The heat and light returned, this time, actually taking the form of Minami. _You don't have to stand on your own. We stand together._

Yutaka opened her eyes to Minami dipping a towel in a bowl of water. "I did some groceries while you were asleep" She said as she put the wet towel on her forhead

_So it was just a dream…_ "How… how long was I out?" Yutaka said quietly as she began to sit up

"Two or three hours?" Minami began to think for a while "I went down to check the fridge again and when I got back up, you were asleep. I went out and bought some food from a nearby supermarket and when I got back you had a fever. While I cooked, I checked on you every few minutes, changing your cold compress."

"… Three hours…" Yutaka seemed amazed. She felt as though she had been asleep for less than five minutes. "… Wow…"

"You were sleep talking" Minami said.

"I-"

"I meant what I said." Minami cut her off. She looked at her with deep blue eyes "We stand together."

Yutaka was transfixed by her gaze. It seemed so sad… but determined. "But what if I'm not good enough for you?"

Minami gave her a weird look, as if her question didn't make sense. "I love you, Yutaka. You are and always will be more than enough for me."

_She just said… Alright, I'll do it now._ "Minami, I-"

Minami kissed Yutaka on the lips, shutting her up "I don't like repeating myself." She said with finality. She stood and opened the door. "Lunch will be ready soon" She walked out and closed the door.

"… Love you too…" Yutaka said glumly. She sighed and plopped back down on her bed. "… I love you too…"

**LUCKY STAR**

"Alright… begin plan A" Miyuki whispered to herself as she walked into the dining room for lunch. The Iwasakis had elected to eat at their own house, thus, the pink-haired mother and daughter ate lunch alone.

"So that's why the saying that you'd be less wet walking in the rain than running is scientifically wrong." Miyuki completed her explanation of the physics of rain, a topic brought up by her mother who had been watching a TV show that tried to test whether walking in the rain was better to stay dry or not.

Yukari frowned, deep in thought, her hand, holding a fork, hovered over her food as if her pondering had caused her entire body to become paralyzed. "So their testing method must have been wrong…" Yukari finally concluded.

"It's likely. It's really hard to test though." Miyuki smiled as they continued eating.

When the food was all eaten, Miyuki stood and took her and her mother's dishes to the sink. After finishing the dishes, Miyuki went to the living room saw that her mother was sitting on the couch, eyes half opened and chin resting on her hand as she leaned on the armrest, apparently bored.

_Good. Everything's going according to plan… or at least I hope it is…_ Miyuki entered the room. "Mother, would you like some company?"

Yukari's eyes opened a bit when she heard her daughter's voice. "That would be wonderful." She smiled and moved to give the younger girl a place on the couch next to her.

"How has your week been going, mother?"

"Oh, you know same old - same old." And by that, she meant she barely did anything all week aside from laze around the house.

"I don't mean to offend you, but perhaps you should get a hobby"

Yukari frowned slightly "Well, I try, but after a few weeks I end up forgetting that I was supposed to be doing something"

The daughter sighed "Well, that _is_ something we're prone to…" She said, remembering how she once tried to heat something in the microwave and ended up forgetting about it for half an hour. The said incident happened several times over the course of a few hours.

"What about you?" Yukari asked cheerfully "What has my daughter been doing this past week?"

"Well… I've been studying for college entrance exams, but I'm trying to keep relaxed. Less stress means higher retention of memory" Miyuki explained. "I've also went out with my friends last Monday." She began pointing out some highlights to that day "Kagami and I met at a bookstore, half an hour before we were supposed to meet. Tsukasa joined us at hour meeting place, just having finished buying soft-serve ice cream – she even gave me a cone of vanilla. Konata arrived fifteen minutes late, explaining that a store 'called out to her' when she saw that there was a manga being showcased in the display window. She did the same thing a few minutes later to another store and brought us along with her. It was quite troublesome"

Yukari smiled "You say that, but you seem to enjoy recounting that day." Miyuki only eye smiled her response.

Silence filled the room once again. _She seems relaxed enough_. Miyuki noted. _Now would be as good at time as any._

"I've also been talking with Minami a lot" Miyuki said. Yukari's smile faltered. _There it is again._ "Recently she's been wondering why you've been acting so unpleasant around her, and to be honest, so am I. Would you care to tell me the reason so I can tell her?"

Yukari's smile was no longer genuine "Actually, I wouldn't care to tell you." She looked away "Perhaps you'd rather talk about something else"

"Unfortunately, I don't. I'd prefer to stay on this topic." Miyuki had a fake smile plastered on her face as well now. "In fact, I'd like for us to stay on this topic until it's been resolved"

"What if there isn't anything _to_ _be_ resolved?" Yukari said. "I see no problem in my behavior towards her. Am I not polite and respectful towards her?"

"Yes you are, but that is not the problem we see." Miyuki explained. "Rather, the problem is that you're forcing yourself."

"And so what if I am?"

"What we don't understand is _why_, mother." Miyuki said plainly. "You're dislike is obvious. We just want to know the reason"

Yukari stood. "That reason is personal. I'm sorry Miyuki, but I do not wish to tell you." She began to walk out the room.

_Oh dear. It seems she's being more stubborn that I expected. I'd better switch to plan B._ "Mom…" Yukari stopped in her tracks. "Please, Minami's my friend. She's one of the few friends I have. I'm trying to help her."

"Miyuki…"

"Why do you have to act so cold to her now? You used to be so kind to her. Yes, you're still polite, but what happened to change your view of her." Miyuki pleaded for the answer. "Why do you hurt my best friend?!" _Control yourself! Don't let your emotions get the better of you._

"Miyuki… I didn't know you felt so strongly about this…" Yukari still stood there. Not knowing quite what to do. She sighed, apparently giving up. "Okay then… I'll tell you." She sat back down the couch.

**LUCKY STAR**

Lunch at the Hiiragi household was quiet yet cheerful. "Thank you for the food" They all dug in with gusto as Tsukasa and Konata had cooked the meal again, and by all means, it was one of the most delicious lunches the other four had tasted. 'Thanks for the food' indeed

"I still don't understand how you managed an hour's worth of cooking in just fifteen minutes" Kagami said skeptically as they brought the dishes to the sink. "It's just not possible"

"Well, Kagami, that's just what we do" Konata gave her a cat smile "We do the impossible. See the invisible"

"Why do I suspect this to segue into an anime reference" Kagami muttered dryly

"Row Row Fight the power~!" Konata sang

"Called it…" Kagami sighed in exasperation. "Gurren Lagann, right…?"

"I'm surprised you got that." Konata said "C'mon. You know you're gonna miss it when I leave later." She teased

Kagami clenched her teeth "You know what? Yes. Yes I will." She said bluntly, looking at Konata with sad and shameful eyes.

"Whoa, there. What's with that look? It's not like missing me is the worst crime in the world."

"… Whatever." Kagami began scrubbing the dishes. When she passed a plate to Konata, the shorter girl rinsed it and put it to the side to dry.

Konata frowned. Something is definitely up with her today. _I may very well extend my stay here to resolve this…_ She turned around to see Misao eying Kagami with worry. _But maybe it doesn't have to be me who stays…_

They continued to wash.

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki lay on her bed, looking up at the ceiling, as if staring a hole through her roof would help her digest what she just learned.

Miyuki's mother, Yukari Takara had, at one point, dated Minami's mother, Honoka Iwasaki. They were a wonderful couple but due to a series of unfortunate coincidences and misunderstandings, they had a very bad break up. Despite it being twenty or so years ago, Yukari was still hurting from it. Because of that, the thought homosexual relationships between girls seemed to really irk her.

Although it begs the question of _why_ she was still bitter. _Does she still harbor feelings for Mrs. Iwasaki?_ Miyuki wondered. _Is Honoka Iwasaki aware of said feelings? Is that why she keeps teasing my mother with reminders?_ Miyuki rolled to the side so that she was lying face down on the bed and groaned into her pillow. _What am I going to tell Minami?_

**LUCKY STAR**

"How do you feel?" Around three in the afternoon, Minami came in with a book and sat in a chair at the foot of Yutaka's bed.

"I feel fine…" Yutaka insisted, red-faced due to her fever worsening since lunch.

"I'll believe that if when I next check your temperature and its normal." Minami stated and began reading her book.

Yutaka shifted on the mattress, trying to get a better view of Minami. _She's always so beautiful_. Yutaka thought. She stared at the mint haired girl with longing eyes. _I want her to say 'I love you' to me again… I want her to hold my hand again… I want her to kiss me again… _Yutaka's mind was heavily clouded, and she had difficulty thinking. "Minami…"

The taller girl put down her book and moved to the smaller girl's side. "Yes?"

"Minami…" Yutaka tried to get closer, struggling to crawl nearer to the edge. Minami saw this and leaned more towards the bed. "Minami" Yutaka took hold of Minami's shoulder and rolled over to the side.

Minami, taken off-guard, was pulled onto the bed next to her. "Yutaka…" She had her arms wrapped around Minami's neck. Her face seemed to be getting closer and closer. "… Yutaka… I don't think-" Yutaka pulled her into a kiss, hugging her tightly. When Minami finally broke free she looked at Yutaka with surprise and more than a little worry.

"More… please" Yutaka said faintly

"No, you need rest." Minami tried to roll out of the bed but hands took her sides before she reached the edge.

"Stay… at least stay…" Yutaka wrapped her arms around Minami's waist and didn't let go.

Minami could have broken the hold – quite easily, in fact – but thought that it would be better that Yutaka not struggle anymore. Besides, she kind of liked the position she was in. Minami stayed in Yutaka's embrace, on her bed.

"I love you…" Yutaka said weakly, her hold on her waist loosening.

Minami rolled on the bed to face Yutaka. "I love you too…" She hugger the smaller girl.

**LUCKY STAR**

There was heaviness to the air inside the living room which threatened to crush the two girls occupying it. Konata had left the house for home shortly after lunch. Misao, however, had elected to stay for a few more hours.

Kagami tapped her fingers on the couch, making slight thumping sounds as they hit the fabric. "… Why exactly _are_ you staying?" Kagami asked Misao.

"Hey, you make it sound like I'm not welcome here anymore" Misao said in a hurt, albeit joking tone.

"You _are_ welcome but you may have very well outstayed it." The twin-tailed girl deadpanned.

"Is it wrong for me to want to be with you?"

Kagami clenched her teeth. _Yes. Why would you _want_ to be with me?_ "… No. It's fine"

"… Kagami, did I make you mad? It seems like you're only forcing yourself to be with me."

"I'm not mad at you, it's just… just…" Kagami began to explain but didn't know where to go with it.

"Kagami, do you hate me?"

Kagami looked at her with confusion "What? No!" _Why would you think that!? Sure, you're a bit annoying, but there isn't anything to hate about you._

"They why do you look like you're hurt when you look at me?" Misao asked. "C'mon, I don't look _that_ bad, do I?"

Kagami's face flushed. "Uh… No…" _No, she really doesn't look bad. She actually has a really cute face and beautiful figure._ She shook her head. _Great, ANOTHER reason why I don't deserve her_

"Kagami, you're blushing" Misao said in a teasing tone. "What were you thinking?"

"It… it's none of your business!" Kagami yelled in annoyance. She stood and ran out the room.

Misao smiled sadly and sighed. _Just keep waiting, Misao._ She stood and followed Kagami out the door. _Keep waiting and don't rush into it._ She bit her lip. _But I really do wish I could just up and make out with her._ With exasperation, she knocked on Kagami's door and entered, hoping to chip away another piece of the wall Kagami had erected between them since the start of their relationship.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Yo! I'm home" Konata yelled as she took off her shoes and put it with all the other shoes. She noticed a pair that weren't her dad's or Yui's. Konata smiled when she finally recognized whose they were. "And it looks like I'm not the only one home"

Konata went to the kitchen to ready for making diner and saw that the fridge had been restocked. "This much food needs a week's salary to buy. Dad hasn't gotten a job yet, and if he has, he hasn't gotten a pay check yet. So who bought these?" She thought back to the shoes. "Look like we're in debt…"

She left the kitchen and proceeded to Yutaka's room, making a quick stop to her own room to drop off her over-night pack. She sneakily opened the door and peeked inside. _Minami and Yutaka cuddling. Ain't that cute._ Konata smiled_. I'm tempted to go in and tease them, but I'm not liking the looks of that bowl of ice water and towel. Is Yutaka sick?_ Deciding to leave them be, Konata went down to make dinner.

**LUCKY STAR**

Hiyori's inspiration had been sky high since the kiss she received yesterday. The said inspiration caused her to finish the seven or so doujins she had left to gather dust because she couldn't properly end the kiss scene realistically enough. Now that she's finally experienced what she was drawing, it became much easier for her to do romance stories. And do that she did, with two one-shots already in the works and three chapters worth of content for a multi-parter swirling around in her head. At the rate she was going, she may have the most number of doujins to sell next Comiket for her circle. That rate only increased because of her dream last night.

_This one will be a special one._ She thought as she finished inking the page. _This one is for Patricia._ Sure enough, the cover showcased a well-endowed, blond haired, blue eyed school girl sitting next to a long haired and blushing glasses-girl. _I can't believe I finished it so quickly though. Ten pages in the span of 24 hours – that beat my last record out the ball park._

"Now…" Hiyori sighed. She looked at her phone with a nervous smile, the name 'Patricia Martin' flashed on screen. "To call her…" Her thumb hovered over the accept button, shaking slightly as tension grew inside her. _Come on. You just talked to her YESTERDAY. What can change in a day!?_ Then she remembered Konata and Tsukasa who went from friends to girlfriends in the span of an hour because of a simple question. _Okay maybe a lot can change…_

The tension in her body relaxed, not because it snapped when Hiyori finally pressed accept, but because it pulled her back with a massive tug when she pressed cancel.

"That won't work. Maybe a text would do it?" Hiyori said, as if trying to convince herself, albeit in a very ineffective manner. With the text ready, her hand was once again petrified. For whatever reason she just COULD NOT press the accept button. _Stop being so nervous! You can draw your friends in lewd situations without hesitation but are paralyzed from the thought of sending a text? Press it! Please, for the love of god, press the button!_

Hiyori closed her eyes and clenched her hand into a fist, hoping her thumb landed in the right spot.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Uhhh! Finally she left!" Kagami said with a sigh of relief. Misao had decided it was time to go home and bid the Hiiragis goodbye.

"What's wrong sis?" Tsukasa slid Kagami's door open when she heard a muffled yell from her room.

"Uh… er… nothing."

"Really? I thought I heard something and, well, I thought it came from your room."

"It's nothing, Tsukasa. Don't worry about it." Kagami smiled, reassuring Tsukasa.

"Er… okay…" Tsukasa just stood at the door, not leaving or coming in.

"Tsukasa, could you close the door?" Kagami asked her sister as she began shifting though her books, looking for the one they had been studying the day before.

Tsukasa entered the room and closed the door.

"Is something the matter?"

"Sis… You've had your first kiss before right?"

Kagami twitched. "Y-yes… I have" She said "But I'd rather forget it." She added in a mutter. Her first kiss was Misao deciding that a good way to express her joy of Kagami agreeing to date her was to grab the twin-tail's face and press their lips together.

"Earlier I had my first kiss with Konata." Tsukasa said quickly, like she'd been practicing. She got no response. "… Sis…?" She waved her hand in front of Kagami's face. Still no response. She grabbed hold of Kagami's shoulder and began shaking her. Nothing. Tsukasa sighed. "… oh, not again…"

**LUCKY STAR**

[LUCKY CHANNEL!]

[Heya, luckies! I'm Minoru Shiraishi. I'm sorry to say, but Ms Akira's still not feeling well. Get better Akira Kogami! Fight that sickness! Just who does it think you are!? Fight it! Fight the power! Speaking of which, our next song is _Libera Me From Hell_, from _Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann_. Brought to you by _Gainax_. Enjoy!]

**LUCKY STAR**

**Still in college, still passing with fairly good grades, still not liking the people there. Sigh.**

**Anyway, Wow, this took way too long to make. Once again, we have a 6k word story. Hooray?**

**I tried harder to make everything less… serious. Granted, I may have gone a bit overboard with that first part, but it was fun to write so I decided to keep it in.**

**This chapter also marks the return of the Lucky Channel radio segment I had in the past chapters (hey, they only have one broadcast a day. It wouldn't make sense if there was a lucky channel segment in all 4 chapters that spanned a single day.)**

**As always, reviews are appreciated (especially ones that tell me what I do wrong [spelling, grammar, plot errors] and what I do right [things you like about my story].)**


	10. The second trimester begins

**You'd think summer would last forever, huh? Well, it doesn't. Here's "The second trimester begins"**

**LUCKY STAR**

After the events of that weekend in the middle of summer, the lives of Konata & Yutaka, Miyuki & Minami, Kagami & Tsukasa, and Misao had taken a turn for the better – "better" being relative.

Sojiro finally got another job and was sustaining the Izumi household as best he could. At least they didn't need to worry about having food or running water anymore.

Yukari, now with no reason to hide her dislike of Minami and her relationship with Yutaka, was more open with everyone. The Iwasaki and Takara daughters, despite the unhidden dislike, were now more comfortable being in the same room as her, and were quite amused when Yukari began retorting to Honka's teasing. Their back and forth was reminiscent of Konata and Kagami before they got girlfriends.

Speaking of Kagami, the Hiiragi household returned to its routine of Tsukasa waking up late and forgetting about studying while Kagami was picking up the slack, trying her hardest to get her sister ready for college the entrance tests that year. Truth be told, going back to the familiar humdrum of their lives before that day a month ago felt surreal. Kagami wasn't quite sure what to make of it – and as far as the twin-tailed girl could tell, her twin hadn't realized the change at all.

Misao, still part of the track team, still energetic and seemingly carefree, and still Kagami's girlfriend, also had her life return to the state of normalcy it once had. It was a relief for Misao as the early to middle parts of summer was filled with too many serious matters to talk about. It was a breath of fresh air for her to go from relationship drama back to fun times with friends.

All that said, better is still not good. Yutaka never found out what her mother and Sojiro were talking about over the phone that one night. Konata and Tsukasa, despite taking an enormous leap in their relationship that particular morning, felt that each still saw the other as a friend more than a lover. Yukari and Minami, despite being more comfortable around each other, still had strained relations. Kagami was the worst off, her feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness of being with Misao threatened to overcome her whenever she thought about it too much – and it was worse when she was alone. The only one who probably WAS better off was Hiyori.

Hiyori Tamura, raven haired, glasses wearing doujin artist, decided to take Patricia Martin, blonde and busty American exchange student, on her offer of "more" – "More" being a chance to receive more physical affection from the blonde, i.e. hugs, kisses, etc…

The two began dating in the middle of summer and until the very end of summer, they stayed together.

Speaking of the end of summer…

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good morning Shiraishi-san." Miyuki greeted as she entered the classroom

"Early again, I see"

"It's the start of a new trimester. I thought it would be a good idea to come early." Miyuki put her bag on her chair and walked out the door. "Besides, the class representatives have a meeting this morning. I'll see you in class, Shiraishi-san"

"See you, Takara-san" Minoru saluted a goodbye.

On her way to the student council office, Miyuki bumped into a lavender haired twin-tailed girl while turning a corner. "Oh, good morning Kagami-san"

"Sorry, Miyuki-san. I shouldn't have been standing behind that corner." Kagami said quickly

"Not to worry. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going." Miyuki assured her. "Are you headed for the student council office?"

"Yeah. We have a meeting, right?"

"Then let's go together" Miyuki smiled and gestured for the two of them to start walking. And walk they did. "Is Tsukasa-san with you?"

"No. She's still asleep…" Kagami sighed "…Like she always is"

"I'm a bit surprised, though. Hasn't Tsukasa been waking up earlier as of late?"

"Er…" Kagami scratched her head. "Well… you remember that sleepover we had a week ago? She seemed to go back to normal after that"

"Hmm… That's quite strange…" The pinkette noted. "But not entirely unlikely."

"Oh, did you bring an umbrella today?"

"Why… no." Miyuki raised an eyebrow to the unexpected question. "Did the forecast say there would be rain today?"

"Not really, but they said there was a chance that it might if you stay out late enough." Kagami explained "I thought 'better safe than sorry' so I brought a foldable kind" She rummaged her bag and pulled out a folding umbrella – the automatic push-button kind.

"That's a lovely umbrella." Miyuki examined it. The design was rather minimalistic, having only primary colors and basic shapes on the fabric but it looked to have a pattern that was pleasing to look at if it were unfurled. "Oh, this is the birthday gift I gave you"

"Yeah" Kagami smirked "Not saying I want it to rain, but it would be nice to break this thing in"

"Actually, umbrellas were originally made to shade you from the sun" Miyuki commented

"Really…? Huh…" Kagami seemed surprised by that information.

"Don't worry. In modern times, the term umbrella is used when it shields from the rain. It's an unofficial distinction that a parasol is what is used to shade from the sun, although they do both jobs equally well."

"Well, that was certainly some interesting trivia." Kagami remarked "I swear, is there anything you _don't_ know"

"Oh, I don't know everything. I know only what I know" Miyuki said modestly. Kagami blinked then shook her head, as if remembering something she shouldn't. _Did I say something wrong? _Miyuki wondered

They reached the student council office and entered in preparation for the meeting. Now they need only wait for the other class reps to arrive.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good morning, Kona-chan" The lavender-haired air head smiled as she waved hello.

"Good morning Konata-san, Tsukasa-san" Miyuki entered the room and greeted her friends.

"Good morning Yuki-chan"

"How was your summer, moe goddess Miyuki." Konata said with a dramatic bow – a bit difficult considering she was sitting at her desk.

"It was not very eventful summer, unfortunately." Miyuki commented "But it was fun nonetheless"

Tsukasa tilted her head slightly "Hey, Yuki-chan"

"Yes?"

"You're normally the first one to class. How come you weren't here when I arrived?" Tsukasa asked curiously

"Well, I'm not really the first person to get here. That title goes to Shiraishi-san."

"Sebastian?" Konata asked "He's the first to class?"

"Er… yes." Miyuki sweat dropped "Anyway, I arrived here shortly before varsity practice began." The school sports teams began morning practice at least an hour prior to the start of school. "I went to a class representatives' meeting… Then I wandered the school a bit while I waited for class to start"

"Wow Yuki-chan. I never knew you woke up so early." Tsukasa said in wonder.

"It's not surprising. You have a curfew don't you?" Konata noted

"Yes. Nine o'clock. But I've recently had it pushed back to as late as ten."

"Hey Tsukasa, don't you go to sleep at nine as well?" Konata asked

"Er… I do?" Tsukasa doesn't check the clock before she goes to sleep so she doesn't know. Not being able to give an answer she just pouted and hung her head, blushing.

"You're cute when you do that" Konata commented, which caused Tsukasa to cover her cheeks and walk to her seat, obviously embarrassed at the compliment. Konata smiled "She's cute isn't she?"

"Yes." Miyuki looked at Tsukasa. She was holding her hands up to her cheeks and shaking her head excitedly. She was like a smitten school girl, which she incidentally was. Miyuki glanced at the person who cause the reaction and saw that she was still staring at Tsukasa. "Yes, she certainly is" Miyuki smiled and returned to her seat.

The bell rang and a voice called from the door. "Alright, class. Quiet down. It's the first day of school after summer vacation, let's not start it off by being more annoying than you already are." Nanako Kuroi walked into the room, apparently in a bad mood. "So to start off this trimester, let's have attendance. Izumi!"

Konata raised her hand with a smug smile. "Here"

"Really now?" Ms. Kuroi said in surprise. "I expected you to be late… Ah whatever" She waved off her disbelief. "You're off to a good start, Izumi. Let's hope it lasts till the end of the school year"

"It might, but I wouldn't get your hopes up." Konata replied

"Ha! Like I'd ever do THAT" Kuroi laughed

"…" Konata felt a little hurt from the low expectations but didn't really mind.

And so began the second trimester of that year.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good afternoon, Nurse Amahara." Yutaka chimed as she and Minami entered the room. Minami nodded her greeting as well

"Oh, good afternoon. How was your summer?" Fuyuki Amahara, the nurse asked cheerfully. "Oh, we're using a different brand of your medicine now." She said cheerfully "If it works as well as it should, we'll have saved you a couple hundred yen." She winked and shifting though her stuff.

"Our summer was fun" Yutaka answered happily. "And thank you."

"Did you find anything remotely supernatural in the summer?" Nurse Amahara asked.

"Eh…" Yutaka sweat dropped. "I'm sorry Nurse Amahara, we didn't find any" Every Monday she asked if they saw ghosts or some similar phenomena over the weekend. They always said no but it seemed it made no difference to her as she always asked again. It was no surprise that she asked on the first day of the new trimester.

"Really? That's a shame."

"Yutaka" Minami handed her a glass of water. She looked at the nurse and held up a bottle of tablets, looking for confirmation.

"Yes, that's the one."

Minami nodded and gave Yutaka a single tablet from the container. The rosy redhead drank it, as gasp escaping her lips when she finished.

"Oh, and by the way, the drowsiness side effect you get from your previous brand of medicine is still present in this one. I just needed to inform you"

Minami looked at the bottle again, and she found a little foot note on the label with the side effects written. Sure enough, 'mild drowsiness' was there.

"Just be careful not to fall asleep in class" Minami warned.

"Okay" Yutaka got off the bed and the two of them began walking out the nurse's office. "Goodbye nurse Amahara."

"Take care now. Be sure to tell me about any paranormal activity you might find."

The door closed and the two students walked back to class.

"Oh, Minami, can we stop by the cafeteria?" Yutaka asked as she passed by the hall leading to said room. "I need to go buy lunch"

"You didn't bring lunch?"

"No. It's cheaper to buy food here. At least that's what I was told."

The mint haired girl blinked. "We could always have my lunch." She suggested

"What? No, that's _your_ lunch. You should be the one to eat it" The shorter girl said

"I'm not that hungry. I think I can survive a day without lunch."

"No. Minami, it's _yours_." Yutaka insisted.

Minami looked down and muttered. "… What if we share…?"

Yutaka tilted her head slightly. "…Eh…?"

"… We could share my lunch…" Minami said, eyes fixed on a single point in the air in front of her. "… I'd like to feed you…" Minami's face grew red slightly

"… Oh…" Yutaka blushed "… I'd like that too…"

After a few seconds of awkward relative-silence as they stood in the bustling cafeteria hallway, they began walking once more to the classroom, hand in hand.

**LUCKY STAR**

"I've always wanted to eat lunch up here!" Patricia said enthusiastically. "It's like were anime protagonists!"

They had gone to the roof. Technically, students weren't allowed to eat there. But no one was around and Patricia happened to know how to pick locks.

"Patty-chan, I'm not sure we should stay here…" Hiyori said nervously

"Oh, relax. It's not like anyone goes up here anyway" Patricia waved of her lover's concerns and examined the area.

It was flat, concrete, and surrounded by a chain-link fence – not particularly eye-catching. Patricia was not impressed "Tell me, why do anime protags like eating here?"

"Erm… I don't really know." Hiyori had set a handkerchief on the floor and was sitting on it, getting ready to eat. "Maybe it's the view?"

Patricia leaned on the fence and looked down on the campus. "Looks about as good as it does on the ground." She deadpanned. Sighing, she sat down in front of Hiyori and watched her eat.

It took the glasses-girl a few minutes to notice the rather intense stare Patricia was giving her. And when she did… "Wha! Why are you staring at me!?"

"I'm bored and hungry" The blond said said, not taking her eyes off of the other

"Er… If you don't have money to buy some, you could always share some of mine" Hiyori said nervously.

"It's not exactly that kind of hunger…" Patricia said with a mischievous grin

"Um…" _What is she planning? Knowing Patricia, it could be anything…_

"Oh, don't mind me for now. Just keep eating"

With apprehension in her stomach, Hiyori ate as fast as possible before her appetite lessens any more. _Whatever she's planning, I want it over with as fast as possible_.

As Hiyori finished eating her food and packing her lunch box, Patricia leaned over to her. "Remember when I said I was hungry?" _Oh boy…_ "I was sorta craving a taste…" _Is this gonna go the way I think it will…?_ "of you…" _… Well…_

One passionate kiss later, Hiyori was out of breath, and Patricia had pinned her down, knees on her hips and hands on her shoulders. Hiyori couldn't move "Wow… This… was entirely different… from how… I imagined… getting pinned… would feel like…" Hiyori said between deep breaths.

"Pinning someone by the wrists isn't as effective as anime would tell you." Patricia smiled. "So… can I keep going?"

"… What?"

"Oh, you know." Patricia casually put her hand on Hiyori's left breast.

Hiyori gasped. _I MY GOD. If I say yes, I'm gonna get laid… Am I ready for this…? Oh, who am I kidding? I WANT THIS!_ "G-go…" Patricia grinned and continued.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Hey, Misao, I've always wondered this… How can you wolf down all of your food all the time and not get any fatter?" Kagami asked, pinching her waist.

"Dude, I'm part of the track team, remember?"

"… huh, forgot about that…"

Lunch in classroom 3-C was pleasant and quiet. Kagami, Misao, and Ayano had much of the room to themselves, with all their classmates either taking up their own small space in the corner of the room, eating at the cafeteria, or wandering the school building.

"You've gotta relax, Kagami. You're not fat." Misao said casually. "You're pretty sexy actually."

That earned a swat to the head which Kagami delivered swiftly. "Geez, you're sounding more and more like Konata with every passing day."

Misao rubbed her head. "Oww… You didn't have to hit me _that_ hard. I was telling you what I honestly thought" Kagami blushed but did not respond. "Speaking of that midget, why aren't you eating with her?"

Kagami blinked. _Why AREN'T I eating with her?_ "… I don't know."

"Maybe it's because you wanted to spend time with me?" Misao said hopefully.

"Er… no. I don't think so." Kagami deadpanned

"Kagami, that's mean." Misao pouted. "Is that how you're supposed to treat your girlfriend?" Kagami twitched. Misao noticed this and suddenly became worried. "… Oh boy…" She began snapping her fingers in front of the twin-tails' face as she began shivering. "Kagami, I was joking. I actually kinda like it when you're mean to me." She said quickly, trying to calm her down..

Kagami's eyes slowly went back into focus and her cheeks slowly turned a rosy color. "You… You shouldn't joke about things like that…"

"Sorry…" Misao apologized. "Hey, this is that tsundere personality this the chibi was talking about" Misao said enthusiastically, happy to have remembered something about her girlfriend. "You're actually pretty sensitive, huh?"

"Sh-shut up…" Kagami replied weakly. "It's your fault for saying stupid things…"

"Just stop thinking too much on it. Your brain keeps making things worse; I'm surprised you keep acing our tests"

"Oh, big words coming from someone who got 16% percent once" Kagami retorted, her voice gaining some energy back

"Hey, the teacher NEVER discussed that!"

"It _was_ discussed! _Last Year_!" Kagami corrected

"You expect me to remember something a teacher taught me _a year ago_?!"

"At least _some of it!_"

"Maybe if you helped me, I'd be able to remember!"

"Oh, I very much doubt that!"

"Wanna bet!?"

"You're on!"

"Great! I'll go to your house every Saturday for tutoring then."

Kagami blinked "Wait what?" _Did she just…_

"That was smooth." Ayano giggled. "When did you get so good at talking?"

"Let's just say me and the midget are closer friends that we used to be." Misao said smugly

_So SHE planned this…_ Kagami clenched her teeth. _I'm gonna kill her…_

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki was wandering the halls. Public displays of affection aside, she was perfectly comfortable with staying in the class room and watching her two friends act lovey-dovey, and the couple was likewise fine with her being there. She didn't wish to intrude on them though. Thus, she walked the school building.

By definition, "to wander" is _"to move around or go to different places usually without having a particular purpose or direction"_. With that said, Miyuki was definitely wandering, in more ways than one.

Her mind was afloat and her train of thought had gone off the tracks. The last thing she remembered was walking out of her classroom, the next thing she knew, she was on the other side of the building (and little did she know that she had circled the entire floor twice before she came to)

What tore from daze, however, was a scream.

"Kyaaa!"

"What was that?" Miyuki looked around to find a few other students who were also looking around. They probably heard the noise as well.

A few minutes past and those searching gave up and once again went about their business. Miyuki, however continued her search, fueled by a certain curiosity she couldn't quite control. _That sound was too soft to be from one of the nearby classrooms. It's also too loud to be from a classroom farther away. From the way it resounded through the hall, I'd say it came from outside, through the window_. Miyuki looked out the window and found the grounds were empty. _It wasn't directly from the outside, so it was probably from the second years' hallway… Oh dear, am I really bold enough to brave entering the halls of my underclassmen? _Miyuki shook her head. _Perhaps it was on the roof. I'd rather not embarrass myself by going down to the second years' floor._

And so Miyuki went for the roof, the door to which was surprisingly unlocked. What she saw was… troubling, to say the least.

**LUCKY STAR**

"I know we talked about this before, but which end of a choco-cornet is the head?" Konata asked as she took a bite of the side food item. "Like… Which is it _really? _Is it the fat end or the skinny end?"

Tsukasa thought for a bit "Well, I always thought it was the skinny end because it looks kinda like-"

"A sea shell" Konata finished, taking another bite off the skinny end of the cornet.

The lavender haired girl beamed in awe "Yeah. Wow Konata, you're a really good guesser. It's like you read my mind"

"Eh…" _But we already talked about this. Two years ago…_ "Yeah, let's go with that. It's the skinny end, like the tip of a sea shell…" The otaku decided not to further that conversation anymore.

"You know, I don't think a choco-cornet is enough food for you" Tsukasa noted

"What?"

"I mean, back in the last trimester, you were always bringing box lunches. What happened to change that?" Concern laced Tsukasa's voice.

"Eh… Well, I'm trying to save money and buying choco-cornets and a bottle of milk is cheaper than the lunch I make at home."

"Really?" Tsukasa asked, not quite believing her. "What are you saving up for?"

Konata was presented with a choice - trust Tsukasa and tell her the truth or lie and risk upsetting her if she ever finds out. _If she doesn't find out I'll be fine… but then it would mean I don't trust her, now doesn't it? Well… If I were in a dating sim, what action would lead to the good ending…? I'm gonna tell her the truth._ "Remember around a month or so ago when I said we were having money troubles?"

The question got a worried look from Tsukasa "Y-yes…"

"We're sorta still in a pinch." Konata gave a vague explanation that didn't really explain anything. "Better than before, but not good."

Tsukasa was left with something to ponder. She pouted, arching her eyebrows, and rubbing her chin. _Tsukasa looks cute when she's deep in thought like that…_ The airhead's eyes widened and a smile found its way on her face. She got an idea.

"I'll just make you one" Tsukasa said cheerfully

"… Make me what?" The blunette was confused. _We were talking about money… she's gonna help me make money?_

"Lunch"

"Oh…" She blinked. _Ooooh, that's what she meant._ "Are you sure? I don't really want to be too much trouble"

"Yeah. Why not? It's not like you don't already depend on Kagami for homework. Why not depend on me for food too?"

_Ouch… Airheads hit hard when they don't know what they're saying… But she has a point. Why not?_ "… Okay. You'll make lunch for me. Thanks"

"You're welcome." Tsukasa chimed. "I'll start tomorrow… But til' then…" Tsukasa took a bit of her lunch with her chopsticks and raised it in front of Konata. "Here, have some."

"Uh…" Konata blushed. _Holy Haruhi, we're gonna be sharing lunch. That's like getting an indirect kiss… what am I thinking!? I've already gotten a DIRECT KISS from her! Why is this making my heart pound all of all of a sudden!? It's like I'm in a shoujo manga or something!_ She opened her mouth and Tsukasa fed her.

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki was scolding her two scantily clad underclassmen. "While I'm sorry to have intruded in your… um… intimate moment…" Hiyori and Patricia blushed "… but please understand, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be doing that sort of thing at school. You're lucky it was just me. I'd rather not think of what would have happened if a teacher saw you." The two first-years blushed even more "It's perfectly reasonable for healthy teenage girls to engage in sexual activities, but keep in mind that there is a time and place for everything…"

"Alright, we promised not to get caught next time" Patricia said, getting over her embarrassment quicker than most people would think possible

Miyuki raised an eyebrow. "If you _are_ gonna be doing something like that again, I suggest you find a way to keep the noise to the minimum…" She smiled "oh, and close the door next time" With that, the pinkette walked back into the building.

Once she was at the bottom of the steps, she sighed. _I'd be lying if I didn't find that more than a little arousing… _She shook her head to dispel any unwanted thoughts. _You're in school, Miyuki. Know your priorities._

**LUCKY STAR**

"Oh, Hiyori, where've you been?" Yutaka asked when she entered the room.

"Well… I was… er… with Patricia and we ate on the roof" Hiyori said quickly

Minami raised an eyebrow. She gave the glasses-girl a once over – slightly messy hair; somewhat ruffled uniform; subtly looser skirt – Minami was pretty sure of what Hiyori and Patricia did on the roof and she would bet that it _wasn't_ eating (although that actually did happen)

Hiyori noticed Minami's stare and when she glanced at her, the mint-haired girl gave a razor-thin smile, a barely noticeable change in her emotionless face. "Congratulations" She said. Hiyori blushed. _She knows._

"Congratulations for what?" Yutaka asked

"Ah… well… you see…" Hiyori couldn't think of an answer.

"It's a secret. She'll tell you when she's less shy about it" Minami said, saving Hiyori the trouble of explaining.

Hiyori looked at Minami with grateful eyes. The stoic returned her glance with a look that said _tell us when you're ready_. Hiyori smiled nervously. _Message received_

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami was asked by their homeroom teacher to help with filing the class' grades. Why the teacher would entrust a student to do that, she didn't know, the fact of the matter is that she was forced to stay late after school.

The rain poured outside as Kagami exchanged her shoes at the shoe lockers. "Well looks like I got my wish. I WILL be breaking this thing in" As she went out the door, the twin-tailed girl took out the folding umbrella from her bag and moved to walk into the rain before she noticed a head of blue hair at the edge of the overhang that shielded them from the rain. "Yo, Konata"

The otaku blinked "Oh, Kagami. Didn't see you there"

"Jeez. What are you doing, spacing out over here?"

"Aww. You're worried about me?" Konata teased

"Of course I'm worried. You were standing there, glaring into space as if you were really pissed off."

The bluenette blinked again "I was?"

"Yeah"

"Ah… Well, don't worry about that." Konata waved her off "What you should worry about is me getting stuck in the rain. Got any problem with sharing?" She gestured at the umbrella

"Oh… Sure." And so, they walked to the station together under the canopy of the umbrella.

The only sound as they walked was the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the side walk. This is one of the few times Kagami had ever been alone with Konata and not be constantly teased by her. Come to think of it, the last time they were ever alone together was before she and Tsukasa got together, and that was nearly two months ago. That said, the lack of communication made the air around them feel heavy.

"S-so…" Kagami pierced the relative silence.

"… So" Konata repeated awkwardly.

_Say something, damn it!_ "So… school started today…"

"… Yeah"

"… Sorry I didn't eat with you guys"

"It's fine…"

The conversation was force and uncomfortable. Kagami began beating herself up for not being able to find a good topic to talk about. _It would have been better to keep the awkward silence._ Coincidentally, that was exactly what they returned to.

"Hey, Kagami…" This time it was Konata the broke the silence. "You have a meeting with the other class reps right?"

Kagami coughed lightly "… Um… Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Miyuki said she went to a class rep meeting this morning. Since you're a class rep, I just put two and two together." Konata explained "Anyways, what was the meeting about?"

"Oh, okay" _That was actually pretty obvious… How did I not think of that?_ "Well, we have a few weeks before the culture festival begins so we decided to start planning. It was mostly budget negotiations with the student council. I don't know how the prez managed to juggle negotiating with nine different reps at the same time but she was amazing."

"Actually, I saw an anime involving a certain student council president who could do that…" Konata began, to which she was flicked on the forehead by Kagami

"Whoever that is, if she's from anime, I'm not surprised she can do it." Kagami deadpanned "Oh, and would you believe that Miyuki got you guys the biggest budget out of all of us?"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. The difference between your budget and everyone else's was a little under a hundred yen, but still"

"That's our Miyuki" Konata praised "How'd she do it? Did she use her sexy moe aspects to seduce the prez?" She added with a sly smile

Kagami face palmed "First of all, the prez doesn't swing that way; second, I don't think Miyuki would stoop so low"

"Hmm… I suppose you're right." Konata frowned "I don't think Miyuki would be able to use her moe powers even if she wanted to…"

"That's not exactly what I meant… Ah, whatever." Kagami shook her head "Anyway, she sort of intimidated us into it."

"No way"

"Yeah. We both know how rich Miyuki's family is. She threatened to… er… _contribute_ to your funds if your class didn't get a bigger budget."

"Wow, the goddess of moe's badass…"

"I'll say. Pretty unfair though" Kagami sighed "Then again, life isn't fair."

The silence returned once more, but not as awkward as it was earlier – not as long as earlier either

"How was lunch with Misao?" Konata asked. She said it in a casual manner but there was a certain look of expectation in her eyes.

Kagami looked at her with suspicion. "It was…" With a blink and a blush, she remembered. She bonked Konata on the head "You planned that didn't you!?"

"OW!" Konata rubbed place of impact. "That hurt."

"Admit it! You planned that whole scene with the teasing and the tricking and word play and-"

"Kagami! Calm down." Konata took hold of her shoulders, causing the tsundere to let go of the umbrella. "Chill"

Kagami took a deep breath. "Y-you… you planned for Misao to trick me into helping her study"

Konata stared at her "What?" She bent down and picked the umbrella up from the sidewalk. "Kagami, I never talked to Misao about doing that." She propped it up awkwardly, in a vain attempt to keep the canopy above Kagami's head. The twin-tailed girl took the umbrella from the struggling Konata. "I mean, I guess I gave her an idea when we last talked but… I didn't exactly give her a way to execute it."

"You… you didn't?" Kagami blushed

"No. I'm still sorta wondering how you thought it was my doing." Konata looked at her sternly, which really didn't work with her as all she could muster was a cute pout.

Ignoring the downright adorable attempt at an unsympathetic face, Kagami explained "She sort of began teasing me…"

Konata rolled her hands in a 'go on' gesture "And?"

"One of them hit a bit too hard and she apologized…"

"And?"

"After a few back-and-forths, she tricked me into accepting a bet where I have to tutor her every weekend."

"And?"

"… That's it"

"… That's it?"

"…That's it…"

Konata blinked "And what's the problem here again?"

"Well, I… I…" Kagami was speechless

"Right" Konata deadpanned in a voice similar to her Haruhi impression. "If you want my opinion, I think you're just overreacting"

"Stop it with the acting" Kagami warned

"Alright alright." Konata relented "But still, I DO think that. What, did you think I was planning to break your mind by sending your girlfriend to your house every week?" Konata joked

"… Yes…" The twin-tailed girl said shyly

"Wait, you did? What the hell kind of train of thought would lead you to that conclusion?" Konata shook her head. "Never mind. Listen Kagami, you've gotta stop overthinking things. Just accept that something good happened in your life. It's not like _everything_ has a catch."

"But…"

"Okay, maybe _most things_ have a catch. Like those supposedly free coupons I got from this one guy at gamerz" Konata muttered

"Uh…" Kagami was getting annoyed

"But that's beside the point. Now, where was I."

"What is it about my situation that is good?" Kagami asked irritably.

"Well, for one, you get to spend time you're your girlfriend" Konata said a-matter-of-factly.

"… She… She's my classmate. We see each other all the time"

"So are me and Tsukasa. I'd feel pretty good if I were in your situation… actually can you tutor me too?"

"NO, I can't tutor you too!"

"Darn it"

"Besides, I don't think staying at my house would be-"

"Kagami, stop making excuses. If you don't want her in your house, you could always tell her"

"But-"

"Ah, for some reason I forgot you were tsundere, alright have to think of a better solution"

"Hey, I'm not-"

"Actually there's no better way than to tell the truth" Konata concluded "Just tell her straight up that you don't want her at your house. Yeah. That'll-"

"Konata!" Kagami shut her up. "She deserves better than me…" Kagami said quietly, barely audible from the sound of the rain

"What are you talking about? You've got the some of the best grades in our year."

"No… it's not because of that… She deserves a better girlfriend… Someone who actually loves her…"

"Then be that girl" Konata said simply "Be the girl you think she deserves"

"I can't… I don't love her. I'm-"

"In love with me?" The umbrella once more fell to the ground

"K-konata…" Kagami blushed, not of just embarrassment, but also in shame. "…yes…"

"Then forget about me!" Konata yelled "If I'm the one going between you two then take me out of your life! Be happy with her!"

"But I DON'T WANT YOU OUT OF MY LIFE!" Kagami sobbed helplessly, sinking down to her knees.

"WELL DO YOU WANT MISAO OUT OF YOUR LIFE!?" Konata asked angrily "Stop beating yourself up! She loves you! It doesn't matter if she deserves better! YOU'RE THE ONE SHE WANTS!" Konata's emotions were overpowering her "Please… I don't want to see you so sad anymore…" Soon, she too sank to her knees.

"I-I'm sorry f-for yelling…" Kagami gasped as she tried to suppress her wails.

"Its… It's fine…" Konata managed "I just… just want you t-to be happy…" Konata leaned over to hug Kagami which she graciously returned.

So there on the sidewalk, in the rain, they sat holding each other, the cold raindrops ignored for the warmth and comfort of their skin ship.

After they've calmed down, Kagami sighed "what the hell are we doing, look at us…"

Konata chuckled. "We look like idiots"

"I'll say" The shade of an umbrella covered them from the rain as someone walked up behind them. The two turned to see it was Miyuki. "While I'm glad you two have made up in whatever argument you were having, I'd think it would be nice if we get you two out of the rain."

Kagami rubbed her eyes dry, or at least as dry as the weather would allow "Right. We might catch a cold" She stood up

Getting up as well, Konata segued into a tangent about colds. "You know, I've always wondered, why is that in anime, when you catch a cold, you're basically dead? It's like colds in anime are the equivalent of cancer in real life"

"… come to think of it, it's the same in light novels." Kagami realized, thankful that Konata lightened the mood

"Perhaps we should continue this while we walk?" Miyuki suggested "We're not far from the station"

And so, the three of them walked. The two received weird looks on the train because of their dripping wet clothes and hair but all was well. When the two got off at their respective stops, they went straight to their homes and took a hot bath.

Miyuki, who arrived home first recounted the even to Minami.

"It sounds like her problem is complicated" Minami noted

"It only seems that way, Minami-san" Miyuki said "It's a whole lot simpler than you think."

**LUCKY STAR**

**I'm getting a lot of views but not a lot of reviews. My mediocrity is more prominent than I thought. You guys seriously have nothing to say? Eh, I don't blame you. Hard to find something to say about something you don't have an opinion about. My story, while not all that bad, isn't exactly good either.**


	11. It was raiy after school

**Some time has passed and we are now one week and three days from the culture festival. You know what that means? Filler chapter! It was rainy after school**

**LUCKY STAR**

Friday at Ryoo High was rainy but not entirely gloomy. The weekend was nigh and all those in the school were very excited for the short break… almost.

"Alright guys. A few things before I dismiss you" Nanako Kuroi said to the class "I know next week is the culture festival and I'm sure you're all very excited about it but try to remember that a few weeks from now is your mid-term, and after that, college entrance exams. Have fun next week but keep in mind that you're seniors now. Get your priorities straight." She looked to the one seated near the back of the classroom "I'm looking at you, Izumi"

"Don't worry teach, my priorities are as straight as yours" Konata said teasingly

"That's what I'm afraid of" The history teacher deadpanned. She sighed and waved lazily at the class as she sat back down "Well, that's all. Class dismissed"

The class of 3-B slowly trickled out the room, bottle-necked by the two doors at the front and back of the classroom. The first out was Shiraishi who opened the front door wide when he exited. _Nice guy, that Shiraishi._ Kuroi commented. The people continued to leave

Soon the classroom was left with only three other people – Konata Izumi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara. _Best friends I've ever seen_. Kuroi smiled and approached them. "Don't have any plans on leaving?"

"Nope, no plans on _leaving_" Konata said simply "What we _do_ have plans for, though…"

Kuroi didn't like the sly grin that appeared on the otaku's face "Is it anything likely to get me fired"

"Oh, heaven's no" Miyuki said "We were simply making plans for the culture festival"

"Awww, why'd you have to tell her? I wanted to mess with teach a bit"

Kuroi bonked Konata on the head, followed by an 'ow' from the victim. "That's for implying something untrue and would possibly cost me my job." Kuroi went back to the teacher's table and picked up her bag. "Well, I'm leaving. Lock up before you go"

"No problem, Ms. Kuroi" Tsukasa and Miyuki said in unison. "No problemo, teach" Konata said cheerfully

As Kuroi closed the door, she noticed a girl waiting outside class 3-C. _Isn't that Kusakabe?_

She walked up to her. "Hey, kid, classes are over… what are you doing?"

"Oh, Ms. Kuroi…" Misao was at the window outside the classroom and was apparently busy playing around. She was trying to hold her entire body in the air by holding onto the windowsill but was not doing a very good job of it. She grinned when the teacher approached. "I'm just hanging around"

As always, when a simple or vague answer is given to a question, another question inevitably follows "Why?"

"I'm waiting for Kagami. She and Ms. Sakuraba are still talking in there. Class rep stuff" Misao explained

At that exact moment, Hikaru Sakuraba and Kagami Hiiragi opened the door to 3-C. Kagami was holding a stack of thirty or so notebooks while Ms. Sakuraba held two very large text books "Ah, perfect timing. Kusakabe, take this and bring it wherever Kagami is bringing it" She handed the books to her. "I'll see you three on Monday" She smiled and walked away

Misao stood with two heavy books in her hands and a very confused look on her face. "What just happened?"

"You, my dear student, just got hired to do manual labor" Kuroi said cheekily before walking away as well. "I'll leave you to it"

As Kuroi exited the building to the school parking lot, she noticed two students behind the gym. While curious about their business there, she decided it wasn't worth her effort. _I'm off the clock. Whatever they're doing, it's not my problem anymore. _She got in her car and left for home.

_Time for another weekend alone at home…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"Here" Minami said, helping Yutaka erase the upper half of the black board

"Thanks, Minami" Yutaka said cheerfully

The two of them, plus three other students, were part of the Class 1-D clean-up crew for that day. It's quite convenient that they ended up together when you think about it.

"Kobayakawa-san, Iwasaki-san, we're done on our end. We'll leave the rest to you two" Two boys from the back of the room were packing their bags getting ready to leave

"What about me!?" A girl cleaning the windows shouted, distressed at the thought of being left behind.

"Then finish faster" The two left the room

"Guys!" The girl sighed and looked at the two at the front of the classroom

Minami was staring intently at the girl. After a few seconds, the mint haired girl glanced to the door that the boys had left from. She returned to sweeping the room shortly after.

The girl paled when she realized Iwasaki was staring at her. Did she do something to offend her? Had she and her friends been too loud? She must think they didn't do enough work! All of this swirled in the girls mind as she panicked before she was snapped out of it by a very small girl.

Yutaka Kobayakawa beamed at her. "It's okay. Go to your friends. We can take care of things here"

The girl glanced at Minami. The mint haired girl returned the glance and nodded before returning to her work.

"Thank you" The girl took her things and quickly vacated the room.

"That was a nice thing to do Minami" Yutaka said. Minami nodded sadly "Don't worry. She just misunderstood you." Yutaka said in an attempt to reassure her. Minami nodded once more and continued sweeping the already clean floor.

The shorter girl frowned and moved to finish cleaning the windows. After a few minutes, Minami decided to help, scrubbing the upper half of the glass. They were finished in no time

"All done" Yutaka said happily. It wasn't often she was able to help out. Normally, she'd struggle with sweeping or some similar task for a few minutes before someone took pity on her and did the work for her. It was a nice change to actually be able to see her task though to the end, albeit with help – required because of her height.

"Great work" Minami said, with a rare smile on her lips. "Shall we go?" She asked as she began packing her bag.

She stared dreamily into Minami's smiling face for a few minutes before Minami's question registered to her brain. Yutaka's face heated up. "In a minute" Yutaka rushed for her bag and began packing.

The taller girl giggled at her girlfriend's antics – another uncommon occurrence. Yutaka's blush deepened. "L-let's go"

They closed the door, locked it and made their way out.

**LUCKY STAR**

The discussion about what Class 3-B would do for the festival was a lively one

"Awww! Why can't we do a swim suit café!? It would be awesome!" Konata shouted "We've got a sexy glasses-girl that just oozes moe! How can we go wrong with that!?"

With a blush Miyuki coughed. "It… it would be a little embarrassing, wouldn't you think?" She fidgeted in her seat. "I don't have the confidence to wear something as revealing as a swimsuit here in school…"

"Me neither…" Tsukasa agreed.

The light in Konata's eyes dimmed but the enthusiasm soon returned. "What about a maid café?" She suggested

"Class 2-E already turned in a form for that. We can't also be a maid café." Miyuki commented

"Who cares? We've got a bigger budget and we also have more variety!" The blue haired otaku stood on the table and pointed at Miyuki. "The well-endowed bespectacled-beauty!" She pointed at Tsukasa "The clumsy and lovable airhead!" and then she beat her chest proudly "And me, the energetic loli-otaku!" She pointed up towards the ceiling "Our class is the superior class! We will challenge the class of 2-E and we will win, or die trying! Just who do you think we are!?"

Miyuki and Tsukasa were in awe and confusion at Konata's passionate speech. Not knowing how to react, they simply clapped, praising the performance.

The short girl jumped off the table and returned to her seat. "So does that mean we're fighting to see who the better maid café is?"

"No" Miyuki said simply "It's against the rules for two classes to do the same thing for the festival"

Konata blinked "huh… didn't think about that…"

Right then, Tsukasa jumped "I've got it!"

"Got an idea I see" Konata asked.

Tsukasa nodded quickly, lavender hair shaking wildly "Yes, yes I do!"

Konata turned to Miyuki who had an amused look on her face. She glanced at Konata as if to say _'well? Ask her what it is'._ Konata grinned. "Okay, I'll bite. What is it, Tsukasa?"

"We do a play!"

Konata and Miyuki looked at each other. Both saw that the other was up for it. Will that be what their class does for the festival? The two smiled. They hoped so. Too bad they won't be able to vote on it till Monday.

**LUCKY STAR**

"So…" Misao dumped the two books onto Ms. Sakuraba's desk in the empty faculty room. "Do you do this kind of thing a lot?"

"Unfortunately…" Kagami said as she neatly arranged the stack of notebooks on the table. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that teachers think they can depend on me, but still, spending time to work for teachers is still spent time. You'd think they'd rather have students using their time on studying than running errands."

"Yeah." Misao agreed "Speaking of which…"

"You remembered? Wonderful" Kagami said dryly

"… was that-"

"Sarcasm? Yes. Yes it was" Kagami stretched before walking out the faculty room, locking the door "Anyway, how are we gonna be doing this tutoring thing. I didn't really think you were serious so I kinda forgot to prepare" Kagami lied. She was actually well set for this considering how much she helps her sister and Konata with their studies.

Misao stretched as well, yawning slightly. "It's cool. Just do whatever you do when you help out Imouto or Chibi"

Kagami cringed. _I really wish she didn't know that much about me… Well, can't make excuses. Regardless of how she got me to agree, a decision is still a decision, and I decided to help her, so I have to do this…_

After exchanging their shoes, they walked out the building. It had rained earlier and looking at the sky, it seemed that it was about to rain again. Kagami felt worried because of that. "Are you sure you want to do it today? You said Saturday when we made the bet."

"Eh…" Misao scratched her head "I'm busy this weekend. I won't have anything to do today so why not?"

"Why not…? Well, it's about to rain" Kagami said dryly

"Huh… didn't notice that" Misao said, looking up at the grey clouds overhead "Ah, who cares about the rain?"

"You might catch a cold." Kagami warned

"I'm pretty strong. I'm sure I can survive a little rain and not get sick" Misao waved off Kagami's worries

"… If you say so…" Kagami pulled her umbrella from her bag and readied it in case it started to pour. "C'mon. The longer we just stand here, the more likely we'll get caught in the rain"

"Heh, no need to tell me twice. Let's go!" Misao said enthusiastically

Kagami sighed. _I get the feeling that this'll be a long trip home…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"That was fun" Patricia said with a satisfied look

"Yeah…" Hiyori panted. She seemed really out of breath, not to mention was walking funny. "But… the back of the gym…? Really…? What if we got caught…?"

"Oh, don't be such a worrywart." Patricia dismissed her points "No one goes there"

"That's what you said last time" Hiyori retorted

"You enjoyed it didn't you?" Patricia asked with a sly smile

"I… er… yeah…"

"Then I don't see why you're complaining" Patricia checked her phone. "Oh, looks like I've got to go"

"Work?"

"Yup. See you on Monday" Patricia waved goodbye and Hiyori was left with lingering sensations, scents and thoughts of the girl who just left. _Is this love or lust? Ah who cares!? This blend of feeling is just what I needed to make the next chapters to my story all the better. Thank you Patricia._ Hiyori shook her head to clear her mind. No need for such thoughts when walking home, people might stare at her.

**LUCKY STAR**

"So how was school you two?" Tadao Hiiragi asked her daughters over dinner

"It was nice" Tsukasa said cheerfully

"Eh, same old same-old" Kagami replied dryly.

"I'd also like to know something…" Tadao began

"Yes, dad…" Kagami asked quietly

"Why is Misao Kusakabe eating dinner with us?"

"Well…" The twin-tailed girl sighed. "Misao, care to explain…?"

Misao who was wolfing down her food stopped abruptly. "… What?"

"Would you care to tell us why you have graced our dinner table with your presence?" Kagami asked sarcastically

"Oh…" Misao suppressed a burp and began talking "Well, I don't know if Kagami told you guys, but we had a sort of agreement that she'd tutor me every weekend. It was sorta supposed to be on Saturdays but I had plans. I came here with Kagami and studied for a few hours and when we finished and I was about to leave, it was raining really hard, so I stayed for a bit longer. I guess I waited too long because now the rain is REALLY pouring and you guys are having dinner. Thanks for the food by the way"

Tadao raised an eyebrow and looked at Kagami. Kagami looked back and said "Eh, what can I do?"

The father sighed. He figured he could help his daughter's friend. "I'll drive you home after dinner."

"Really? Thanks!" Once more, Misao dove into her food with much more gusto than she had previously – something the Hiiragis found, quite frankly, amazing.

**LUCKY STAR**

**Well, that was a chapter. Hope you enjoyed it – and if you didn't, well… *sigh* I don't blame you**

**Sorry that it's so short this week. Like I said a couple chapters ago, I'm in college and not only that, I'm an engineering student. I've got a mountain of homework that I haven't quite finished yet and prelim exams are next week. Suffice it to say, I don't have much time for this story. Expect me to still post another chapter next week anyway though.**

**Again, reviews are appreciated, especially ones that tell me my mistakes (spelling, grammar, or otherwise)**


	12. Inconvenient storm

**Well this is a surprisingly early update isn't it? Let's start off with some review replies**

**Guest  
Can you lend me some of that free time? I find I'm sort of lacking in that depertment.  
Anyway, yes, I do plan on continuing this. If it make it any better, I also plan on finishing it. Still haven't planned that far though, but I have the general idea.  
I too am a big fan of lucky star's fanfic section. It's a shame there are only three ongoing stories that are regularly updated (four if you count Luckier Star[btw, holy crap, 500k words and it's still on going? AC, are you some sort of writing god?]).  
Finally, thank you. It may not be obvious to you guys, but any review, positive or negative, is a major boost to my will to write. Again, thank you.**

**So in this chapter is set on Monday, two days since the last chapter. Hope you enjoy, and if you don't, I'm very sorry. Here's "Inconvenient Storm".**

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hiiragi residence, Kagami speaking.]

[Morning, Kagami. Since we don't have school today, do you and Tsukasa wanna go to Akihabara with me?]

[Konata, classes were canceled because a storm's gonna hit this afternoon…]

[If we go now we can probably make it back home before the storm hits]

[No, the trains are down and the roads are cleared in case we need to evacuate. I'm pretty sure the shops in Akiba will be closed too]

[You underestimate the otaku!]

[Either way, it's still a no. My parents wouldn't let me out even if I wanted to]

[What about Tsukasa?]

[Konata…]

[Aww, Kagami, you're no fun.]

[You better not go, you little pipsqueak. If I find out you went anyway… if you survive… if you…you…]

[Kagami, relax! I'm not going!]

[…]

[I'm not going. I'll stay at home. Nothing's gonna happen.]

[…o-okay…]

[… well… bye for now… see you tomorrow?]

[… s-sure… see you tomorrow…]

– Click –

**LUCKY STAR**

"Miyuki-nee-san, it's time for lunch" Minami said as she knocked on the door. With no response, she opened the door to find a dark room with Miyuki sitting on her bed, headphones covering her ears, and laptop casting the multi colored lights on Miyuki's face. Curious, Minami went in for a closer look.

She was apparently playing a video game and a rather hard one at that. It was a bullet hell shooter with brightly colored shapes of death practically covering the entire play area – and Miyuki was dodging every last one of them.

The mint haired girl watched in awe for a few minutes before Miyuki finished. "Nee-san. Lunch is ready" Minami turned on the lights

"Oh, Minami-san. I didn't see you there." Miyuki blinked, adjusting to change in ambient lighting. "I'll be down in a bit."

"What were you playing?"

"It was a video game Konata introduced to me called Touhou. It's actually quite engaging. Nearly all of the boss fights have fairly simple attack patterns despite their apparent difficulty and it's quite satisfying to use it to my advantage." Miyuki giggled "If you'd like, I'll give you a copy."

Minami smiled and nodded

The two went down for lunch

**LUCKY STAR**

Tsukasa knocked on Kagami's door "Sis, it's time for lunch…" No response "Sis…?" Opening the door, the younger twin found her sister in a fetal position on her bed. She rushed to her side. "Sis, what's wrong?"

It took some time for Kagami to respond "… it's nothing. Just me worrying too much again…"

Tsukasa looked at her with concern. "… Is it because of the storm?"

"… Yeah…" Kagami seemed to pull herself into a ball even tighter "… and Konata"

"Konata?"

"She wanted to go to that anime district… It's already raining and the storms about to hit. What if she went anyway?"

Tsukasa's worry increased "Konata didn't really go did she?" She seemed to shrink at the thought "… I wouldn't like if she got hurt…"

Tsukasa frowned, eyes unfocused. The ever increasing anxiety on her face was alarming. You could almost see her train of thought – imagining scenario after scenario, getting progressively worst as time went on. It seemed _both_ twins suffered from the same curse of an overactive imagination.

Kagami clenched her teeth. Seeing her sister just as worried as she was seemed to make something click in the older twin. "C'mon" She pulled Tsukasa into a hug. "She's fine. Konata's not that stupid…" She said in an attempt to reassure Tsukasa – and at the same time, herself.

After a few minutes of holding each other, the two finally calmed down. Tsukasa squeaked "Lunch is ready…"

Kagami blinked. "What?"

**LUCKY STAR**

"Onee-chan, is something wrong?" Yutaka asked her otaku cousin who was sitting in front of her computer, deep in thought.

"I probably should have asked to come over to their house instead. I only wanted to spend time with them…" The bluenette muttered

Yutaka tapped her shoulder "Onee-chan?"

"Yu-chan!" Konata jumped "Didn't hear you come in… could have sworn I locked the door…"

"Um… the door was wide open"

"Really? Wow, I must be really out of it… Whoever's causing these gaps in my memory, I must put a stop to them!" Konata shouted "In all seriousness though, how'd you sneak up on me like that? You start ninja training or something?"

"I don't know. You were staring intently at your computer screen. It was turned off so I thought maybe something was wrong… _Is there_ something wrong?"

"Eh… It's Kagami. I was on the phone with her and I think she was about to have a panic attack…"

Yutaka gasped. She had seen one of those before when she was confined to the hospital. She'd never quite heard or seen something so full of fear and pain since then. "Is she alright?"

"I managed to prevent it" Konata sighed.

"Is she taking any medication for that?" Yutaka asked

"There's medicine for that?"

"Er… It depends"… Yutaka explained that there are many causes of panic attacks and no known form of medication would completely prevent it without bad side effects.

"Huh, never knew you were so… well…" Konata struggled to find the word but Yutaka understood what she was saying.

"Back when I stayed at the hospital, some of the patients would talk to me. I learned what I know now from them. They're really nice people. I wish they didn't have to suffer so much though…"

"Ah, that's my Yu-chan. The closest thing to an angel if I've ever seen one"

Yutaka blushed "Oneee-chaaan. Stop it, it's embarrassing."

Konata patted her head "Ain't you cute. I bet Minami would love to see you this flustered." she teased

"Stoooop it." Yutaka pleaded.

"Okay, okay." The bluenette relented "I was serious though. You're the nicest person I've known. Still the closest thing to an angel."

"Oneeeee-chaan!"

"Right!" Konata clapped her hands "Let's have lunch"

"… Eh?"

She took Yutaka by the shoulders, spun her to face the door, and began pushing. "To the kitchen!"

**LUCKY STAR**

It was less than an hour past the point where the hurricane hit the city. A number of structures had already been vacated due to them not being able to handle the storm. Luckily, the Hiiragi household was not one of those buildings. The family was inside having a little snack to calm their nerves.

"The rains coming down pretty heavily" Kagami noted.

Indeed, the sound of rain was akin to that of a waterfall – loud and constant. There was little to no wind but the torrent of water kept falling ceaselessly. It threatened to flood the pond that they had in the backyard.

"Tsukasa, have you readied your stuff in case we have to evacuate?" Kagami asked her sister

The said twin was in the middle of eating some cake. Kagami's question caused Tsukasa to drop her fork. "Huh? We have to evacuate?"

"Kagami, don't be so pessimistic. We'll be fine. A little rain will be no problem" Tadao said reassuringly.

"I don't know dad. This doesn't look like _a little_ rain." Kagami commented. She looked worriedly out the window to the street below. The raindrops were like bullets, pounding heavily on the ground. "This is the hardest I've ever seen it pour…"

"Everything will be okay, Kagami" Tadao said in a way so calm and sure that Kagami almost believed him – almost.

She had an unrelenting fear that the hurricane would get stronger, else, not lose intensity. It was illogical, though. Whenever storms passed over land, they lose both speed and water mass. It would be impossible for the storm to get stronger – and Kagami knew that. Yet for whatever reason, a nagging voice in her head was telling her to run from wherever they were as fast as possible. Unfortunately she could not see into the future so she had no choice but to act on the information she had – and the information she had told her she was safe.

"I hope you're right dad…" The twin tailed girl continued looking out the window "I hope you're right…"

**LUCKY STAR**

The storm windows in the Iwasaki Manor were all locked, the owners' valuable placed in a safe on the second floor, and the building vacated.

Everyone from the manor moved into the Takara residence, which was better equipped for weathering such weather (They had a generator, a water pump, a raised ground floor, a large stock of food and drinking water, and reinforced walls and windows – you'd think they were paranoid what with how prepared they were)

"This is wonderful weather we're having isn't it" Miyuki said

Minami blinked. She tilted her head in confusion

Miyuki sighed in disappointment "Hmm, the joke was a lot funnier in my head…"

Minami and Miyuki were lazing around in Miyuki's room. They had been there for three hours, playing video games, cards, and various other activities to alleviate their boredom. Unfortunately, they have exhausted all of their 'fun' options to kill time and were left with word games that neither was enjoying as much as they'd like to.

"Try as we might to kill time, in the end, it is time that kills us" Minami said

"Oh, that was a good one" Miyuki commented "Very philosophical"

As was stated before, they were not having as much fun as they'd like.

The pinkette sighed. "Minami-san, forgive my rudeness, but I'm bored" She plopped onto her bed, defeated. "I give up. I'm sorry"

Minami gave an amused smile. With a sigh and a shrug, she laid down on the bed as well.

It wasn't long before the world turned black

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hey Kagami]

[Konata? What is it this time?]

[Are your lights turned on?]

[Uh… yeah, why?]

[Not for long, they won't]

[What? Konata, you're not making any-]

– Click –

**LUCKY STAR**

"Who was that?" Matsuri asked

"Konata. She was asking about some nonsense with our lights" Kagami said in annoyance.

"Oh? What'd she say?" Matsuri grinned slyly as she egged her on

"She asked if our lights were on and then said they won't be for long" She grumbled

"Alright, I've gotta agree with you there. Doesn't really make much sense. It's not like she can predict the future so I don't see a point to that phone-"

At that exact moment, the lights went off.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me" Kagami muttered

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hello. Izumi residence]

[God dammit, Konata, how'd you do that!?]

[Oh, Kagami. I'm guessing you had a black out too?]

[Too? So you're saying-]

[Yup. My neighborhood has absolutely no power]

[Why are there black outs all of a sudden? There isn't even any wind to knock down transformers.]

[I think they're cutting the power in case that _does_ happen – kinda stupid if you ask me. But its better safe than sorry, I guess.]

[*sigh* okay, fine whatever…]

[Hey Kagami…]

[Yeah?]

[Sorry about earlier…]

[Oh… that's okay Konata. I know you're not stupid so you wouldn't really do it. Just don't joke about that stuff in the future.]

**LUCKY STAR**

"Onee-chan! What's going on!?" Yutaka cried from the top of the steps.

Yutaka was climbing down the stairs when the lights suddenly went out. Losing sight of the steps and railing, she basically began to panic, though it took time for her cry out her distress.

The sound of footsteps at the bottom of the stairs alerted Yutaka to Konata's presence. "Relax, Yu-chan! We're fine. Our power was just cut." Konata said calmly.

The small girl took the smaller girl's hand and slowly walked her down the stairs. "There. That wasn't so bad was it?" Yutaka shook her head but Konata couldn't see.

"I'll take your silence as a 'no'. Anyway…" The sound of rummaging was heard. "Where did I put that cellphone of mine…? Ah, here it is!"

Suddenly a bright light shone into Yutaka's eyes. "AH!" the red-head blinked several times, blinded by the sudden light.

"Good thing this little guy has a flash light. Now where are the candles…?" Konata muttered as she began to look for the said candles

**LUCKY STAR**

"Oh, it looks like the generator kicked in" Miyuki noted as she sat up on her bed

Minami sat up as well and looked worriedly at the sealed window "Why?"

"I suppose they cut the power because the possibility that power lines could be knocked down" the pinkette hypothesized. "It's rather ill advised, though. From the sound of the rain hitting our roof, there doesn't seem to be any wind that would likely cause such an event to occur"

Minami made no response. She simply looked at the closed storm shutters, subtle worry etched lightly on her face. With a slight frown, she looked at Miyuki.

The glasses-girl studied the mint-haired girl closely. As far as Miyuki could tell, Minami had a look of anxiety and longing, and when the girl turned to face her, a look of helplessness was also detectable. _She's thinking of Yutaka…_ "I'm sure Yutaka-san's fine" Miyuki reassured her. "She isn't as helpless as you think she is. Besides, Konata-san is with her"

Minami frowned, not quite convinced. She brought her legs up onto the bed and went into a fetal position "I want to be with her…"

The older girl smiled sadly. She put her arm around the younger's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "It may not be the same, but big sister is here for you too"

Minami wasn't keen on physical affection or really any form of physical contact. Even simple handshakes weren't very favorable to her so it's not often you see people touch her. That said, physical contact was much more important to Minami than it is to most people.

"Nee-san…" Minami leaned into Miyuki. "Thank you…"

"You'll see her again, Minami…"

**LUCKY STAR**

**And that's another very short chapter released four to six days in advance because I happened to get three hours of free time when two of my Profs decided they weren't going to show up for school that day. Also, it's to compensate for the… well, very short chapter we had two days ago.**

**Anyway, prelims were moved back a week for some reason and a couple hours of free time opened up for me. Expect another chapter this Sunday/Monday.**


End file.
